


Reap My Broken Bones

by ulrikavolf16



Category: Doom (2005), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Crossover, Doom (2005) - Freeform, Gen, Reaper!Bones, Star Trek: AOS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-08
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2017-12-31 21:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1036534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ulrikavolf16/pseuds/ulrikavolf16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leonard Bones McCoy wasn't always a doctor. In fact, he’s done things in his life he’s not that proud of. But that was the past. He’s been doing pretty well ignoring who he had been and what he had done. Up until a shadow from his past boards the Enterprise that is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Shadows on My Wall Don't Sleep

 

"Captain. We have an incoming transmission from Starfleet Command." said Uhura, turning in her chair.

Kirk glanced back.

"On screen."

 

Kirk stood as the Admiral's image came onto the screen.

"Admiral Duro. A pleasure seeing you." Kirk smiled as he stepped forwards. He could already sense Spock's gaze over his shoulder.

"Kirk. How's the Enterprise running?" graying man smiled.

"Like a dream Admiral."

"Let's hope you keep her that way this time."

Kirk laughed, looking away and scratching his eyebrow. "I'll do my best sir."

"Good good." Duro nodded. "I'm afraid this isn't just a check up call on your mission Kirk. I need to ask you a favor."

"What can I do for you sir?"

"Kirk. I have a Starfleet Marine who needs a frog jump to Station Orion-256 based on Diogenes, and the Enterprise is the closest thing we got. I'm wondering if you wouldn't mind giving him a ride."

Kirk screwed up his eyebrows.

"Is there a problem Kirk?"

"No sir. I'm just wondering why he needs a ride. Wouldn't a transporter be faster?"

"It would, but Diogenes has got some kind of energy flux that renders standard transporter use inoperable. The idea is we transport him out to you and you drop him off."

Kirk listened with his arms crossed as the Admiral finished speaking.

"Mr. Sulu, how far are we from Diogenes?" he asked turning slightly.

"At current speed - three days sir."

"Well Admiral. If your Marine doesn't mind the wait, I don't mind the minor detour. We are explorers after all."

"Excellent. Sergeant Major Hatfield is ready for transport whenever you are."

"I'll meet him there myself, sir."

"Perfect."

 

Spock walked quietly beside Kirk as they made their way to the transporter room.

"I know you've got something to say so say it." mumbling under his breath he added, "You always do."

"Captain. I am curious as to why you are so willing to take on the Marine."

"Why shouldn't we? Its not like we're going out of our way to drop the guy off. Plus, haven't you heard what they say about Diogenes?"

"Diogenes is a currently classified as a small class M planet that has a geosynchronous orbit of the class K planet E76-41. It has abundant natural carbon-based life and yet no sentient life forms besides the Starfleet Scientists studying there."

Kirk stopped in the hall and gave Spock a deadpan look.

"I meant the Flux. Some energy disturbance that causes transporters, and a lot of other tech to stop working. Plus, why do they need Starfleet Marines out there? It peaks my curiosity."

"That's never a good sign." said McCoy as he walked up to the pair. Jim started moving again with Spock and McCoy in tow.

"What can I do for you Bones?"

"You've missed your physical again Jim. That's twice you've ignored it."

"I'm fine Bones." Jim said, walking through the doors into the transporter room.

"Captain. Awaiting your signal." said the technician. Kirk nodded and the technician went to work.

"Jim. I've said it before. We don't know what we'll run into out there and its just plain stupid to contract a disease that could have easily been prevented."

"Energizing in 3…2…"

"Forgive me if I don't immediately leap under the hypospray. You remember how fond I am of them. Mind if we do this later." he said, not making it out to be a question.  McCoy rolled his eyes as their focus shifted to the transporter pad.

There was a spiraling of light that formed into the shape of a man. When the light dissipated the man shivered and slowly opened his eyes, looking about.

"Transport complete."

He was medium height, light brown hair, with hazel-green eyes. Dressed a dark grey and forest green uniform of a Starfleet Marine, he carried a large black duffle bag slung across his back. The Marine shivered again and stepped off the transporter pad.

"You alright sergeant?" said Jim, noting the shiver.

"Yes sir. I'm just not a big fan of transporters sir." he stepped forward and extended a hand.

"Sgt. Hatfield."

"Captain Kirk." Jim shook Hatfield's hand.

"The Admiral said you would meet me. I cant thank you enough for the ride."

Jim grinned.

"This is my First Officer Spock and our Chief Medical Officer Doctor M-"

"Leonard." the man said.  "Well I'll be damned. Leo McCoy."

Simultaneously Spock and Kirk's eyebrows raised and they turned to look at Bones, who glared the sergeant with more than his usual frown.

"Hatfield." said Bones.

"McCoy. How long has it been?"

"Not long enough." growled McCoy. "Excuse me Captain, I have work to do."

McCoy didn't wait for acknowledgement. He just turned and left.

Spock and Kirk looked back at the sergeant. The sergeant had watched Bones until he disappeared and then glanced at pair.

"We knew each other a long time ago."

 

* * *

 

Kirk, Spock, and the Sergeant walked down the halls in silence. Kirk glanced back as the Marine following them and saw him looking around taking in the Enterprise.

"So… Sergeant Hatfield, first time on a star ship?" he posed the question to break the silence.

"No sir. First time on one like this though. Marine transport is usually on cargo ships. This… is much nicer."

Jim smirked.

"Well thank you Sergeant Major."

"Please, just Sergeant will work sir. You'll get tired of saying my entire rank all the time, and the only times I hear Sergeant Major is when I'm being introduced or being yelled at."

Kirk nodded and the group fell into another awkward silence.

"Sooo…." Kirk started again. "There seemed to be some tension between you and Bones."

"Bones?"

"It is the nickname that the Captain had given Doctor McCoy whilst in the Academy." said Spock. Hatfield chuckled behind them.

"I can see it. I promise you Captain, I wont let it interfere with the running of your ship. Just show me where to sleep and I'll keep quiet and out of the way."

The group stopped before the door of the sergeant's temporary quarters.

"Nonsense." said Kirk, "I'm having a chief officer's dinner in my quarters during beta shift. 20:00 hours. I'm sure many of us would have questions about what it's like on Diogenes. Why don't you join us?"

Jon nodded. "Thank you Captain. I'd be honored."

* * *

 

 

As Kirk and Spock started walking back to the bridge, Kirk pulled out his communicator.

"Scotty."

"Yes Cap'n."

"Drinks in my quarters 19:30 hour. You in?"

"I'm not sure Cap'n. I've got a few technical journals I should be catchin' up on."

"I've got a Starfleet Marine who's stationed on Diogenes."

There was a pause.

"You mean, Diogenes -- Diogenes? The one with the energy flux?"

"There's only one Diogenes Scotty."

"Well then, when ya' put it that way, I'll see you then."

 

Kirk then made another call.

"Bones."

"What is it Jim." came Bones' short reply.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine." he growled.

“Are you sure? Things looked pretty tense back there.”

“Jim. I really dont want to talk about it, and I would be grateful if you didn’t pry.”

"Fine, fine. Look, I'm having a get together at my place 19:30. You in?"

"I don't think I'm up for it Jim."

"Oh come on Bones. It'll be you, me, Spock and Scotty. We'll have some drinks. I've got Bourbon."

"I've got my own bottle."

Spock raised an eyebrow at the mention of contraband on the ship being possessed by the Captain and the Chief Medical Officer.

"I know you do. But my bottle's bigger and you don’t have to waste yours. Whatever it was down there, we'll just drink and hang out and forget all about it."

McCoy's sigh was audible over the communicator.

"Fine."

"Excellent."

 

Spock's eyebrows were knit together as he looked at the captain.

"Captain. I am not sure that this is an entirely good idea."

"Whatever are you talking about Mr. Spock?"

"From my vantage point, it seems as if you are creating a situation that will force Doctor McCoy and Sergeant Major Hatfield together. From the brief observation of their interactions before, I do not think it wise to create such a situation, let alone include the consumption of alcohol."

"Duly noted Mr. Spock. See you in my quarters at 19:30." Kirk said as then entered the bridge. Spock didn't say anything more because he knew we wouldn’t be able to convince Kirk otherwise.

 

Kirk pulled the PADD from the side of the Captains chair as he sat down. Opening the archive he searched.

 _'Sergeant Major Jon Hatfield'_. The file opened up and Kirk began to read.

 

_Name: Jonathan Isaac Hatfield_

_Gender: Male_

_Species: Human_

_Affiliation: Federation Starfleet Marine Corp._

_Rank: Sergeant Major_

_Status: Active_

_Stationed: Diogenes Station Orion-256_

_Born:  16.6.2227_

_Cole Francis Memorial Hospital, Georgia, USA, Earth_

_Known history:_

_2227 - Born to Sarah Marie and Elias Hatfield, Georgia, Earth_

_2241 - Awarded medal of valor by Bellonry High School for keeping composure during emergency and saving the life of professor who was suffering from a seizure_

_Transferred to Atlanta Pre-Medical Prep Academy - Emergency Medical Response Division_

_2245 - Enrolled into University of Mississippi Xenobiological Studies Program_

_Left UM_

_Employment by Olduvai Mining Corporation - Security Force_

_2247 -  Involved in Olduvai Mine Tragedy - One of two survivors from the security team sent in to subdue violent Olduvai employees and evacuate hostages. [Other survivor: Leonard H. McCoy]_

 

"What?" Kirk asked audibly. The bridge crew all turned to him with confused and questioning looks. He looked around at them and shook his head.

"Sorry. Forget it. As you were." Kirk read on.

 

_2248 - Arrest for disturbing the peace. Court ruling: Fine and Community Serivice_

_Second arrest for disturbing the peace. Court ruling: Three days jail time and 12-month  probation_

_2249 - Third arrest for probation violation. Court ruling: [Records sealed]_

_Joined Starfleet Marine Corps._

_2251 - Became member of Starfleet Marines Rapid Response Tactical Squad_

_2254 - Promoted to Sergeant Major_

_2256 - Assigned to Station Orion-256 on class M planetoid Diogenes under the command of Major Wilkins_

 

* * *

 

“So did you read the Sergeant’s profile?” asked Kirk, throwing the last of the mess out of the living area of his quarters into the bedroom.

“Of course I did Captain. A ship’s captain and first officer must always be aware of any Starfleet personnel currently upon the ship.” responded Spock, standing in his usual stiffness by the door.

“Did you see the record they’ve got on him? Go, go sit down.” said Kirk, motioning towards the round table across the room as he passed by Spock.

“Yes Captain. As I previously mentioned, I did read the Starfleet Profile.”

“I can’t believe what it said about Bones and Olduvai.”

Kirk slid open a storage compartment and reached far inside. When he pulled his arm out he held a large bottle of bourbon. Spock lifted an eyebrow as Kirk brought the bottle to the table. Jim started to say something, to try and explain, but he just rolled his eyes.

“This does not go into the log. Understood?”

“Yes Captain.”

 

There was a trill at the door. Jim looked at the clock on the wall. 19:40. Jim hit the pad to open the door and Bones stood on the other side. He looked tired.

“Hi Jim. Sorry I’m late. I had to finish up some reports before I left my shift.” he grumbled.

“No, its fine. Scotty’s always late anyway.”

 

Bones came into the room and sat down at the table across from Spock. Kirk grabbed glasses and poured the bourbon, setting one in front of Bones. Bones took it and looked into the glass, examining the amber liquid.

“It’s real. None of the replicated stuff.” said Kirk, pouring a glass for himself. He didn’t even bother pouring Spock a glass.

“Thanks kid.” Bones said taking a sip. Kirk sat down next to Spock and lounged back.

 

There was another trill at the door as the yeoman set down the dinner before them. 19:55.

“Come on in Scotty.” called Kirk.

The door slid open and Scotty strode in.

“So sorry I’m a wee bit late Captain.”

“You’re always late Scotty.”

“Never when i’ really matter though.” Scotty countered with a smile. He sat next to Bones at the table.

“How’s our warp core?” Jim asked casually as they began eating.

“Running perfectly as usual. There was a wee problem with the refractor dish.” said Scotty, taking a bite of the food.

“What? Why didn’t we hear about it?”

“Cause I rerouted the warning an’ fixed it mah-self. Was nothin’ but a bit o’ wiring out of place. Nothin’ I cannae handle, the master engineer miracle worker I am.”

“Well I do hope you’d tell us if the ship was falling apart around us.” said Bones, sounding a little annoyed and sarcastic.

“O’ course I would doctor. Cause then it would really matter.” smiled Scotty. Bones shook his head and grimaces less, which was as good as getting him to half-smile. Scotty took a sip of the bourbon that Jim passed to him and grimaced.

“Don’ you have anything more real? Like a good whiskey?”

“Be careful what you say Mr. Scott. That’s perfectly good alcohol there.” said Bones, giving Scotty a joking look.

“Oh, I bet its perfectly fine where yeh’ come from Doctor, but pardon me if I like mah’ spirits with more of a bite.”

The three men chuckled as the Vulcan continued to eat quietly. He did not completely understand the humor of humans, nor did he understand the experience of drinking alcohol. He had tried it on multiple occasions with Uhura, but it did not have the same effect on him as it did on others.

 

“So Cap’in. Where’s this marine you promised me?” asked Scotty after taking a sip of his bourbon. As if on cue a trill came from Jim’s door. 20:00.

“Dammit Jim.” growled Bones, glaring at Kirk. He threw his eating utensil down, causing it to clatter against the plate. He began to stand.

“Bones, wait. Wait. Please.” said Jim, jumping to his feet, chasing after Bones as he headed for the door. When Kirk caught him by the arm Bones stopped, tense and huffing.

“Stay, please. As a chief officer of the senior crew and as my friend.” asked Kirk, meeting Bones’ murderous gaze with his charming clear blues.

“As your friend, I wouldn’t do this to you. As your CMO, is that an order?” Bones growled back, the effort of keeping his tone measured and controlled was obvious.

“Its a request. I want you here.”

They stared at each other for a tense moment longer before Bones took his arm from Kirk’s grip and stalked back to the table. He took up his forgotten glass of bourbon and downed the entirety of it in one go. Letting out his breath in a hiss, he glared back at Jim before sitting down at the table once more.

 

Jim nodded at Bones and then went to the door. The Sergeant stood on the other side, in his dress uniform.

“Sergeant Major, come on in.” said Kirk with a winning smile.

“Please Captain, like I’ve said before. Sergeant works just fine.” replied the marine with a small smile as he stepped into the quarters. He looked around at the table and made a minute nod to Spock.

“Commander Spock.” he said in greeting.

“Sergeant.”

“Doctor McCoy.”

“Hatfield.” came Bones’ curt reply, he hadn’t even turned in his seat to see Hatfield enter.

“This is Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, our chief engineer.” said Kirk, making the final introduction as they moved into the room. Scotty stood and extended a hand.

“Pleasure to meet you Sergeant. I hope you don’ mind me pickin’ your brain about Diogenese in a wee bit.”

Jon shook Scotty’s hand with a warm smile. “Not at all Mr. Scott.”

Kirk motioned to the remaining seat at the table. The arrangement was in such a way that Hatfield and Bones semi-faced each other, but had Scotty as a buffer between them. Jon took the seat with a nod.

“Can I pour you a glass of bourbon Sergeant?” asked Kirk, retaking his seat.

“No thank you. I gave up drinking a while back.”

“Right.” breathed Bones, barely trying to make himself unheard. The Sergeant glanced at Bones but let the comment roll.

 

Throughout dinner Bones sulked. Scotty was rapid fire with some of his questions and the Sergeant tried to keep up and explain what he could.

“You’ll have to forgive me Mr. Scott. I’m a marine, not a scientist.” Sergeant Hatfield apologized when he was questioned about the Flux itself. He was able to describe the effects of the Flux. No, transporters are not reliable getting to, around, or off the planet’s surface. Yes, even communicators are sketchy at best. Yes, we do have an amplifying dish that strengthens communication signals from the surface to nearby ships. While on planet they rely on radio waves. They use trucks and aerial vehicles that relied on lift. As the Sergeant spoke, his southern accent would slip through his formal speech patterns. Scotty’s curiosity amused Hatfield. Eventually Kirk managed to slip in a question, asking why Starfleet had Marine personnel stationed on Diogenes.

“We’re there to protect the scientists. Diogenese is a rather dangerous planet.”

“What are you protecting them from?” asked Kirk.

“The Da’Kruk.”

Spock was the only one to not give the Sergeant a confused look.

“The Da’Kruk,” he went on to explain, “are the top predators on the planet. The best way to describe them are large wolf-panther-bears that are extremely muscular and armed to the nines. Powerful jaws full of sharp teeth, claws that would easily rip through the metal of this table let alone a man. Four fingered with opposable thumbs so they can grip and strangle, powerful limbs made for running, jumping and climbing. Partially furred to protect against the cold nights. Long heavy tails with bone protrusions for balance and attack. Perfect sight in both night and day. They do have a row of molars which might suggest that they are omnivores, but we have seen them eat little else but meat.”

“Cool…” breathed Kirk and Scotty.

“Trust me. You don’t want to run into one of these things. If you know its there, it has already known about you for hours, and its already too late, you’re done for.”

“How do you fight them then?”

“If we’re lucky we dont. When we’re not so lucky, modified Heckler & Koch G36s usually, our side arms are USPs. My CO uses a Benelli M3 12 Gauge shot gun. All replicated from models circa 21st century.”

“What… like with actual bullets?” asked Scotty. Hatfield nodded. “How archaic. Have you ever been shot?” he asked excitedly.

Hatfield chuckled. “Once. In the foot with a friend’s dad’s bb-gun.” he said looking at McCoy, who met his gaze with cold anger.

 

Kirk was about to ask about the pair when Hatfield continued. “I have tended to a bullet wound before. One of our greatest achievements in killing each other was the invention of the phaser. Hell of a lot more humane.”

“Tended Sergeant?” asked Spock. “I did make note of your record having promise of a very good medical career.”

“Yes. My history in emergency medicine is a great addition to my squad. I came in as the field medic.”

“Never pegged you as one to be saving lives.” grumbled Bones. He had drunk another two glass or three of the bourbon and was pouring another for himself. Hatfield’s smile fell away to be replaced with a controlled scowl of his own, clenching his jaw. He watched Bones for a moment. The other three at the table could feel the tension building.

“Why don’t you stop drinking Leonard. I’d hate to have to save yours.” he said curtly.

 

“Oh. So you two kno’ each other then?” asked Scotty, not completely understanding what was going on. Hatfield smirked and turned then turned his attention to Scotty, the smirk melting into a smooth grin.

“We do. McCoy and I were good friends growing up in Georgia. In fact, it was Leonard who shot me in the foot.”

“Really.” said Scotty skeptically. “Then… what’s all this then?” He made a hand motion between McCoy and Hatfield, indicating the tension.

“Its been a long standing tradition that the Hatfield and McCoy families don’t get along. Goes back a couple of centuries or so now. Seems to make sense that Leonard and I would have a falling out.” said Hatfield.

“Never trust a Hatfield on what he says.” cut in McCoy. Hatfield shifted in his seat, forcing his body into a more relaxed state.

“Perhaps a Hatfield always goes back on their promises and stabs you in the back.” added Bones, finally losing some control of his anger, the alcohol hadn’t helped.

“Perhaps you should stop drinking McCoy.”

“Perhaps you should start. Loosen up the stick shoved up your ass.”

“Really? The stick up my ass? I-” Hatfield’s voice had risen before he cut himself off, jaw clenched tightly. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. As he let out his breath he seemed to deflate slightly, losing his anger to be replaced with something very different.

“If you will excuse me Captain, I should not have lost my anger. I’m afraid I have lost my appetite for present company.” he said, calmly but sounding defeated. Spock tilted his head slightly at the Sergeant, but he didn’t make note of it.

“Of course Sergeant.”

“Thank you, sir.” Hatfield stood and nodded to Spock and Scotty. “It was a pleasure to dine with you both.” he said formally, and walked to the door. He stopped there and looked back.

“I would suggest cutting him off Captain. McCoy gets belligerent when he’s had too much.”

With that he turned and left.

 

* * *

 

Bones left not too long after the Sergeant departed. His murderous mood was evident. Others who met him in the corridors gave him a wide berth. As he past he heard some whispering,

“I’ve never seen Dr. McCoy like that. Its scary.”

 

He returned to his personal quarters and let the door close behind him without turning on the lights. The dark was comforting. He stood still in the dark as his eyes slowly adjusted and then crossed the room to his desk. Reaching down he pulled out his bottle of bourbon from the lower drawer.

_“Perhaps you should stop drinking McCoy.”_

Bones hesitated, looking at the bottle.

_“Why don’t you stop drinking Leonard. I’d hate to have to save yours.”_

Bones quickly opened it and took a swig, to spite his thoughts. He then set the bottle on his desk, sat down in the chair.

Jonathan Hatfield. Out of all the ships in the entire god damn fleet… he has to show up on mine.

Bones rubbed his forehead. He suddenly felt old and tired. Something he hadn’t felt since after the divorce.

With a sigh he reached out and resealed the bottle. Stashing it in the drawer once more, he stood and got ready for bed.

 

* * *

 

_Screams echoed off the walls…. Everyone was running past him. ‘Get out! Go! Go! Go!’ …. There were flashes of light as phaser rifles were fired. Flashes of light as shots were returned. ‘......Leo! They’re almost on us!’ …. The screams…. the fear… ‘Pull back!’..... ‘Make for the entrance!’.... An explosion of noise…. a blast… shaking… ‘Leo? Leo!’ …. ‘Jon! Help me-’ …. The smell of burning, explosives and thick with dust… The chaos… the blood… ‘Where’s T-’ …. ‘Oh god….’ … the fear… the desperation… ‘Jon! NO!’ … the confusion… ‘-could have done it’ … ‘I had no choice.’ …. the hatred … the explosion… the flashes of light… the screaming… the blood…_

 

Bones woke with a start, in a panic. He was breathing heavily and shaking. It took him a while before he realized where he was.

“Lights.” he choked, and the lights in his room turned on.

He sat up in bed, and tried to catch his breath and slow his racing heart. He dropped his head into his hands, feeling the cold sweat. When he finally calmed himself to the point where we could think, he slowly got out of bed. In the dim lighting he changed his sweaty shirt and got a drink of water. The glass shook slightly in his hand as he took a sip. He sat on the edge of his bed for a long time, one hand holding up his head as he rested his elbow on his knee. Though he felt like he was going to throw up he forced himself to finish the water.

Turning off the lights he lay back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. It felt like hours before he finally fell asleep once more.

* * *

 

 


	2. Mourn the Dead, Boys

The next day went uneventfully. Bones avoided Kirk as much as he could with a scowl, and Jim couldn’t find a reason to seek out McCoy for any official business, so it wasn’t too hard. Kirk and Spock stood close on the bridge discussing what they had observed from the dinner the night before.

“I still do not believe that creating the situation-”

“Yeah Spock. I get it.” cut in Kirk, he had already been chastising himself over the subject. He shouldn’t have done that to Bones.

“I don’t think its the whole family feud thing though.” said Kirk, continuing.

“Most assuredly not. In last evening’s observation of the pair, it seemed that the Sergeant expressed some sort of guilt at the minor confrontation, even though Doctor McCoy was the aggressor.”

“Maybe I should ask Bones about it.”

“I don’t suggest that path of action Captain. As Doctor McCoy has stated to me in passing today, ‘Tell that cheeky bastard to keep away from me for a while if he doesn’t want to get hypo-ed.’” Spock said, a small smile flickering at the corner of his mouth. Jim shivered.

“Ok, so I dont ask Bones.”

“Perhaps the best course of action is to let it be Captain.”

Kirk remained silent, thinking to himself. Spock sighed internally. The Captain wasn’t just going to let it go.

“Sure thing Spock.”

 

* * *

 

The next morning Kirk knocked on the Sergeant’s door. There was a long pause before the door slid open. The Sergeant stood a little sweaty in his normal field pants, combat boots, and a loose forest green t-shirt with the Starfleet Marine Corps. logo neatly tucked in. The earbud of a music player hung from one ear.

The Sergeant quickly pulled the earbud free.

“Forgive me Captain. I was going through my morning workout and didn’t hear the door at first. Would you like to come in?”

“Sure and its no problem.” said Kirk, stepping into the room. Everything was neat and orderly. The only space he had seen more ordered was Spock’s personal quarters and he had only seen that in a glance. The Sergeant let the door slide closed and placed the music player near his duffle bag.

“What can I do for you Captain?” asked Hatfield, taking up a towel and wiping off his face and hands.

“I just wanted to inform you that we’ll be coming up on Diogenese soon.”

The Sergeant stopped and looked at Kirk. He gave a half smile.

“Captain, I’m sure that’s not the only thing you came down here for.”

Kirk smirked.

“No, no its not. I also wanted to ask you what happened between you and McCoy.” he said, leaning back on the small desk in the room.

“McCoy and I used to be very good friends. Then he and I had a parting of ways.” the Sergeant sighed.

“After Olduvai?”

The Sergeant paused, not looking up to meet Kirk’s gaze. “So you’ve seen that.”

“Yeah. I also saw your arrest record. Impressive.”

“Nothing like your’s I’m sure.” snarked the Sergeant with a small smile.

“What happened there?” asked Kirk, steering the conversation back to Olduvai. The Sergeant remained quiet for another pause. He looked up and met Kirk’s eye.

“A lot of good people died that day. I made a call. And McCoy has hated me for it ever since.” he said firmly, a flicker of guilt flashing through his eyes.

“What was the call?” asked Kirk gently.

 

“Keptin.” Chekov’s voice interrupted over Jim’s communicator. It broke the quiet tension that was starting to build. The Sergeant turned and went to the sink.

“Yes, Chekov.”

“Wee vill arriving at Diogeenees very soon sir.”

“Thank you Chekov. I’ll be up momentarily.”

“Yes Keptin.”

Kirk looked to the Sergeant. They didn’t speak.

“Will you come to the bridge when we make contact. We could use you there.” said Kirk, finally.

“Wow. The bridge a starship. I’m being pampered sir.” joked Hatfield, all tension seemingly gone. “Of course I will. If you will give me a moment to clean up I will there right away.”

Kirk nodded and left.

 

* * *

 

“We are entering orbit of Diogenes sir.” said Sulu, leaning back in his chair, his work for the moment done.

“Thank you Sulu.” said Kirk from the Captian’s Chair.

He glanced over at where Chekov stood with Dr. McCoy at the mounted screen.

“Zis is amazing.” said Chekov excitedly to himself as he brought up the energy scans of the planet.

“Mester Scott. Are you zeeing zis?” he said into the communicator in his hand.

“Aye laddie. This is amazing.” replied Scotty.

“So what are we looking at?” asked McCoy, looking at the swirling ball of mess on the screen that was supposed to be Diogenes.

“These are the energy fields of the planet.” explained Scotty. “On a normal planet there is a set pattern to it, like the magnetic field of Earth. But for Diogenes here, which is absolutely fantastic, there doesn’t seem to be a set pattern. Its all over the place, which is impossible.”

“Impossible? How?”

“Such random and intense energy patterns vould cause a planet to destabilize and end up tearing zee planet apart. Vis zeese energy fluctuations, Diogenes shouldn’t exist.” said Chekov to the Doctor.

“What, like Vulcan?”

“Theoretically yes Doktor. Exzept vis Diogenes zee energy fluctuations are not creating singularities.” started Chekov.

“The randomness of all this mess,” continued Scotty, “is somehow keeping singularities from forming. Its… really quite impressive.” Sulu grinned to himself. It always amused him when Scotty and Chekov got excited over something like this and began finishing each other’s sentences.

 

The lift doors slid open.

“Permission to come aboard the bridge,Captain?”

Everyone took a glance back to see the Sergeant standing at the lift doors, in the grey and forest green uniform he had arrived in. All crisp, clean, and ordered.

“Granted Sergeant.” said Kirk standing from the chair and approaching. Hatfield stepped onto the bridge and looked around, taking in who was there and what was there. His look lingered on McCoy for a moment before moving on. Bones let out a breath turned his back on Hatfield.

_He’ll be gone soon._

 

“We’re in orbit with Diogenes and ready to make contact when you are.” said Kirk.

“This is Lieutenant Uhura, our Senior Communications Officer. Uhura, Sergeant Major Hatfield.” said Kirk, making the introductions. Uhura turned in her seat and looked up at the pair.

“Well hello Lieutenant. I should have joined the Fleet if all communication officers are on your par.” said Hatfield, smoothly extending his hand with a grin. “Please, call me Jon.”

Bones shook his head and muttered, “Unbelieveable.”

Uhura smiled, laughing at the obvious flirt. She took his hand and shook it. “I’m flattered, but I think I’ll stick with Sergeant Major.”

Hatfield shrugged. “It was worth a try.”

Uhura laughed again. “How shall we be contacting the base Sergeant Major?”

“Targeted Comm burst to 42N63E. Three short pings and then a four second tone. A broad scale transmission would only be caught up in the flux and lost. Then we wait for the reply. Shouldn’t be too long.”

Uhura nodded and went to work. Hatfield was right. It was only moments before the Enterprise was receiving a return hailing frequency.

“They are asking for confirmation.” said Uhura, looking back up at Hatfield.

“If I may?” he asked, extending his hand for her comm. She nodded, taking it out of her ear and handing it to Hatfield. He slipped it into his ear and spoke clearly.

“Sergeant Major Jonathan Hatfield. Confirmation Code: Juliett-India-Hotel-3-2-9-Victor-Kilo-4-2-Bravo.” He paused as he listened.

“Yes sir.” Hatfield looked up Kirk.

“Major Wilkins would like to speak with you directly sir.”

“Uhura, on screen.” he said, turning and heading to stand in front of his Captain’s chair. Hatfield came and stood a bit behind him off to his right. As the image of the Major came on screen the Sergeant stood stiffly at attention.

 

“Captain Kirk. Its an honor to speak with you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” said the stocky blonde haired man. He wore a black uniform embroidered with green and gold. The gold Starfleet Marine badge glittered on his chest while his Major rank pins shone on his right shoulder.

“Thank you Major Wilkins. I’m flattered.” said Kirk with a smile. Wilkins chuckled.

“They said you had a sense of humor. So, you’re the one who’s got my Marine. I trust he’s behaved himself.” he said, turning his gaze to Hatfield.

“Very well behaved sir.” said Kirk.

“Good. At ease Sergeant Major. How was your leave?”

“Short sir.” Hatfield answered, taking the more relaxed, but still stiff attentive posture.

“Well, I wouldn’t have recalled you if it wasn’t important. I’ll brief you myself when you get back to base.”

“Yes sir.”

“Here’s how its gonna go Captain. I’ll send one of my boys up and take Hatfield off your hands.”

“Actually,” interrupted Kirk. “I was thinking of bringing him down myself. I’m curious about what kind of work is being done down there.”

“What?” said Hatfield and McCoy at the same time. Hatfield recovered his composure quickly though his eyebrows were scrunched together.

“I’d love to make a visit and I’m sure my chief engineer would like to study the energy flux for a bit from up here.” continued Kirk. “Of course, all if it is alright with you Major.”

Major Wilkins hesitated in his answer.

“Now you must understand Captain Kirk. I run a very tight Station. And I don’t like it when anything interferes with that. I am open to the idea of a… well, rather famous Starfleet Captain visiting our humble little station. I’ll leave the final decision to you.”

“Thank you Major. You’ll have your Sergeant back soon.”

The two nodded and the transmission ended.

 

“Mr. Sulu. Have a shuttle prepped to make for the surface. Mr. Spock. I know you’re itching to get down there anyway so I want you with me. Sergeant Hatfield. We leave in 20.” said Kirk, turning.

“If I may Captain.” said Hatfield. “I don’t think this is a good idea sir. Diogenes is a very dangerous planet.”

“I hate to say I agree with him, but Hatfield may be right.” said Bones. Hatfield rolled his eyes and shot a glare back at McCoy.

“We’ll be on a Starfleet Marine run station. What could go wrong?” said Kirk with a smirk.

“Actually, a lot.” said Hatfield a little exasperated.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

“Well than I’m going with you.” said Bones, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Now its a really bad idea.” grumbled Hatfield.

“Planet full of things that will probably kill you and medical care stuck in the dark ages, like hell I’m not going with you. You’ll end up dead… again.”

“Again?” asked Hatfield.

“Long story.” said Kirk. He pointed at Bones. “Fine, Bones you come with.” He pointed to Hatfield. “And yes, we are going to the surface Hatfield. End of questions. Shuttle bay 20 minutes.”

“Yes sir.”

With that Kirk began walking out of the bridge. Hatfield and McCoy fell into pace behind him.

“This is a terrible idea. Is he always this stubborn?” Hatfield grumbled quietly.

“You have no idea.”

Spock watched the two walk past, noting how naturally the pair fell into step together without noticing themselves.

 

* * *

 

“Welcome to Station Orion-256.” said Hatfield, stepping off the shuttle. Kirk, Spock, and Bones followed wearing their away team uniforms. Orion Station was nothing like Kirk had been before. It was a large complex of short metal buildings, at most two stories. Beaten down dry dirt roads laced through the complex, some trucks rumbling by as the group walked away from the shuttle bay, which was nothing more than a large glorified metal hanger.. The buildings were all set in a way that centered them around one main yard which hosted the tallest feature on the complex. A four story watch and command tower. The entire complex was surrounded by a tall concrete and metal fence, at least three stories high. As Kirk looked about he noticed many of the forest green uniformed marines had their weapons with them. Up in the tower, look outs could be seen scanning the area outside the fence. And at the fortified gates of the complex stood guards.

 

“Looks like you guys are set up for war.” said Kirk.

“That’s because we are Captain. The fence is also electrified.” said a grey and green clad man, walking up to the group. Hatfield stood up straighter.

“I’m Second Lieutenant Gregor, the Major’s personal assistant.” said the man with a nod. He looked to the sergeant.

“Hatfield. Report to the Major’s office for briefing. And take the captain and his two crewmen along.” Gregor ordered.

“Yes sir.”

With that Gregor walked away.

 

“If you will follow me.” said Hatfield, starting to walk again. He led them to the largest building on the complex and through the stark metal corridors. They passed through a passageway and came into a more brightly lit area with a woman in green who sat at a formal desk. She had pale blue skin with golden eyes. When she smiled there was a flash of white on a deep bright red.

“Sergeant Hatfield. The Major wishes to debrief you first. Go right in.” she said.

“Thank you Ma’am.” said Hatfield, depositing his duffle bag out of the way beside the door before walking through. Kirk, Spock, and Bones caught a glimpse of the office they had seen in the transmission aboard the Enterprise before the door slid closed.

“If you three will please be patient, I am sure the Sergeant’s briefing will not take long.” said the woman with a kind smile. Kirk smiled back.

“Hopefully its not too short either.” he said, extending his hand. “Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise.” The woman took the hand and blushed, well, rather, her face became flushed with a darker shade of blue.

“I am Feeyeran Tah’nok. Civilian Secretary to Major Wilkins.”

“It is a pleasure meeting you Miss Tah’nok.”

Kirk could feel Bones rolling his eyes behind him, which only made his smile widen.

 

Fortunately, for Bones and Spock, Hatfield’s briefing didn’t take long at all. There was a quiet buzz that came from Tah’anok’s desk. She turned and pulled up the display.

“Yes Major?”

“Feeyeran, send Captain Kirk and his crewmen in, would you dear.” came a familiar voice.

“Yes Major.” She shut down the display and turned to the three. With a hand motion to the door she said “Please enter.”

Bones followed behind Kirk and Spock as they entered the office. Hatfield stood at relaxed attention off to the side across the desk from the blonde haired Major they had seen on the transmission before. The Major stood and leaned over his desk extending a hand.

“Captain Kirk. Pleasure to meet you in person.”

“Thank you Major.” said Kirk, shaking the hand firmly. “This is Commander Spock and Lieutenant Commander McCoy.” Major Wilkins nodded at them both in greeting.

“McCoy…” said Wilkins, “I’ve heard that name before.” he paused as he thought about it. Bones began to get tense, he shot a glare at Hatfield which the Major notice.

“You know what,” he said, pulling back from the line of conversation. “I can’t place it right now but I know I read it somewhere. Anyway, Captain. I regret to inform you that the trip out to the main science outpost has been cancelled due to the outpost experiencing a large storm which is projected to last through the night. I can set you three up with a trip out tomorrow if you don't mind the wait. Also, to get the full view of what we do here would take at least three days. Its rather inconvenient for you, but I’m sure we’ll still be here if you wanted to come back later.”

“I don’t staying if you don't mind putting us up.” said Kirk.

“Not at all. Hatfield.” said the Major with a slight sigh.

“Yes sir?” said Hatfield returning his attention to the Major.

“You’ve got space in your barracks to put these three up for a couple nights right?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. I’m assigning the Delta-1-6 to Kirk as a security detail. Where they go, you and your team go got it?”

“Yes sir. But I would really like to get a chance to prep my-” said Hatfield, trying to object.

“That’s an order Hatfield.” Wilkins interrupted. Hatfield fell silent.

“Yes sir.”

“Good. You’re dismissed.” he said, sitting down at his desk once more.

“Captain. Please come with me.” said Hatfield.

 

Hatfield led them out and past a number of the metal buildings.

“You’ll be bunking with me and my squad in our dormitory. I hope you don’t mind sharing a space with seven other men, well… now 10, including you three. Its nothing fancy but its better than staying outside all night. The temperatures here drop at night to near freezing. When we get to the dorm I’ll have to brief my men on the situation.” said Hatfield, fluidly moving through the militaristic environment. They walked away from the main building down one of the dirt roads.

“You’re men?” asked McCoy. “What about your CO?”

Hatfield didn’t respond immediately.

“He’s dead. That’s why I got called back.”

“How did it happen?” asked Kirk. Hatfield let out a slow irritated sigh but kept walking.

“He was taken out by a Da’Kruk on base. Delta-1-6 had night patrol. He went solo instead of as a pair and got himself killed.”

“How did the Da’Kruk get into the complex?” asked Spock.

“It jumped the fence.”

 

* * *

 

They walked into a smaller yard, bordered on three sides by three long mental buildings, the fourth side bordered by the dirt road. Each of the three buildings had a metal grated porch leading and a set of stairs leading up to the single door and on the side of each building was painted the squad number. The dorm directly across from the yard from the road was painted with a black “Delta-1-6” and a bastardized Starfleet logo, where instead of the star at the center of the logo there was the greek letter Delta, a 1 and a 6 flanking it on either side. Three men sat on the steps of the Delta-1-6 dorm watching another four playing basketball on the compacted dirt of the yard. Music came from a speaker the trio on the steps had next to them.

 

Hatfield deposited his duffle bag directly on the ground when they came to a stop a bit away from the group. Bringing one hand up to his mouth he let out a very loud, high pitched whistle. As one, all seven men in the yard looked up. The music was cut off.

“Sarge!” “You’re back.” “'Bout time.” some of the men called as they all began walking over.

“Fall in.” Hatfield commanded. The men quickened their pace. They jogged into an ordered two line formation and stood at relaxed attention. McCoy looked at Hatfield as the Sergeant stepped up to the squad. When he addressed them McCoy noticed how different his manner was from when he had been on the Enterprise or with the Major. He stood tall, proud and in command.

“I’m sorry to hear about Duke.” he said clearly. “But we remember the dead by seeing our mission through to the end. We complete our tasks at better than our best. We don’t fuck up and we don’t lose anymore men. Oorah!”

“Oorah!” called back the squad in unison.

“Command of this squad has been passed to me. Auger. You’re my second.”

“Yes sir!” said a tall man in the front row. The man was older than Hatfield, speckles of gray dusting his jet black hair, and stood a few inches taller.

“Major Wilkins has assigned Delta-1-6 to host and serve as security detail for some VIP guests who will be touring Orion and its science outposts.” said Hatfield. He half turned and made the introductions.

“Captain James Kirk of the USS Enterprise, Commander Spock, and Lieutenant Commander Dr. Leonard McCoy. We will traveling out to the outposts with them and keep them safe, got it?”

“Yes sir.” called the squad.

“We are currently grounded by a storm to the South. We won’t be heading out until tomorrow 1200. Enjoy your free time. Tomorrow I want every up before alpha shift, 0400. Dont be getting your ass out of bed at 0400. I want you up, dressed, in the yard and ready to run drills.”

There was a general grumbling around the yard interplayed with muffled curses.

“Do y’all got a problem with that?” Hatfield asked roughly.

In unison the squad called back, “Hell no! I love my job!”

“That’s what I thought. Dismissed.”

 

 _Short, sweet, and over with._ though McCoy as all of the men of Delta-1-6 relaxed and began to disperse. Hatfield turned back and retrieved his duffle bag. The youngest member of the squad came up to them. He looked barely older than 17, with short scruffy red-brown hair.

“Sarge. How was leave?” he asked casually.

“Shit short Kid.” replied Hatfield, his commanding tone completely gone and replaced with a more casual manner. “I stepped off the barge in New York and got the recall.”

“Yeah…” said Kid, his voice trailing off.

“Its never easy losing anyone Kid. That’s why we don’t let it happen again, right?”

“Right.”

Hatfield glanced back at the Enterprises crew and jerked his head towards the dorm, indicating that they should follow.

“Introduce yourself Kid.” said Hatfield as he began walking. Kid walked backwards, keeping pace with Hatfield.

“Private Ermand, Marine Cadet First Class of the Delta-1-6. Handle ID: Kid.”

“Handle ID?” asked Kirk

“They’re the call names we use in the field. Where you in the Fleet would say ‘Mister - something’ or call each other by your long winded ranks, ‘Lieutenant Commander-whatever your name is’ we uses our Handle IDs. Its a lot faster to call out ‘Kid’ than ‘Private Ermand’, or ‘Ermand’, or ‘Private’ for that matter. I mean we could but its just easier when we’re cl-”

“You’re rambling Kid.” said Hatfield, not even glancing over.

“Sorry Sarge.”

McCoy shook his head as Kid turned back around. _The caller name fits him, Kid. He was barely older than a kid. He shouldn’t be out here on Diogenes. Hell he isn’t even completely out of Starfleet Marines ROTC yet._  thought McCoy, following into the dorm.

“Kid, set them up at some of the open beds at the end.” said Hatfield, crossing the open area between the two rows of beds, depositing his duffle bag on his bed.

 

* * *

 

That night, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy ate with the squad in their dorm. Two of the three tables which had previous occupied the center line of the dorm were pushed together to make one long table. Spock and McCoy are quietly, watching the squad and Kirk as they traded stories. Everything was very informal.

“... and so this big fucker was coming up quick on us and I had only half a clip left.” said Dagit, a shorter Marine with golden blond hair and tan skin, miming holding up his rifle. “So I lined up the shot and I pulled the trigger.”

“And you missed!” chimed in another of the Marines, Mack, a dark skinned Fennik. His hair hid the dog like pointed ears. As he and the rest of the squad laughed, his upturned nose scrunched and his pointed yellow canine teeth were visible in the grin.

 

Hatfield grinned from his seat across from McCoy, next to Spock, watching his team. McCoy felt a hand drop down on his shoulder.

“Excuse me Doctor McCoy.” said the pale, skinny Marine who dropped into the empty seat that Kirk had vacated to get at a better angle to talk to the squad. “I was curious. You’re not the same Leonard McCoy who worked with Andy Sevard back in 2246 on Olduvai are you?”

McCoy gave him a frown in response. He felt himself becoming tense. Some of the other Marines went quiet.

“You are, aren’t you? Worked the Olduvai security teams.”

“Drop it Portman.” said Hatfield.

“Handle ‘Reaper’ right? I got some questions about what happened down there cause the re-”

“I said drop it Portman.” said Hatfield, louder. Everyone in the dorm was silent now. “That’s an order.”

Portman looked from Hatfield’s cold gaze, to McCoy’s furious one which was directed to Hatfield.

“Yes sir.” Portman said hesitantly. He stood up and walked back to his seat. There was a period of silence before the conversation was picked up once more. Once the casual atmosphere had been regained by the squad, Hatfield stood up and left the dorm.

 

* * *

 

McCoy found him later outside on the grated porch, leaning down on the steel railing that circled most of the porch.

McCoy stood facing him, tense and glaring.

“If you keep your face that way for too long it’ll get stuck.” said Hatfield, looking out over the yard.

“They know about Olduvai?” said McCoy, his tone measured. Hatfield sighed and stood to face McCoy.

“Of course they do. They’ve read the incident reports.”

“What. Did you make it required reading? Something to make you out as a goddamn hero?”

“For fuck’s sake Leo. I-”

“Don’t. Call. Me. That.” said McCoy, trying to restrain his rage. Hatfield met his glare but didn’t back down.

“The Olduvai incident reports are apart of ROTC officer training. The higher ups thought it would equate to something like the Fleet’s Kubayahi Maru.”

“So you give your guys pointers on how to save lives?” sneered McCoy.

“I dont talk about it. Nor do I want to.”

They stared each other down in silence for a moment.

“Damnit McCoy. That was the past. What did your father always say? ‘Mourn the dead, boys. Drink to them. But don’t forget about living.’”

“Don’t quote my father to me Hatfield. You weren’t even at his funeral.” interjected McCoy, taking a threatening step closer.

“Of course I was!” said Hatfield offended. “But I stayed out of the way. I stayed out of your life just like you told me to.”

 

The metal of the door creaked as it swung open.

“Bones?”

Kirk stepped out onto the metal grated porch looking around. Hatfield took a step back and turned away. Kirk approached slowly.

“Am I interrupting something?” he asked hesitantly.

“No Captain.” said Hatfield formally. “We were just catching some fresh air. If you will excuse me.” Hatfield walked past the pair and went back into the dorm.

 

Kirk and McCoy watched his retreating back until it disappeared. Kirk leaned on the railing, just as Hatfield had.

“So… Reaper?” he asked. McCoy let out a long sigh. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Kirk, his rage dissipating quickly.

“It was my Handle ID.” he said, leaning on the railing himself.

“On Olduvai?”

“... Yeah. I wasn’t always a doctor Jim.”

“Want to talk about it?” Jim asked, offering the opportunity.

“Not really. You can always read about it.”

“You’re my friend Bones. I’d rather find out about it from you.”

Bones stayed quiet, looking out over the yard. Most of the complex was lit so the crew in the tower could keep an eye out.

“Should I be worried?” asked Jim, watching Bones’ face.

“No.” said McCoy gravelly. He stood and patted Jim on the back. “See you inside.”

Jim watched him return to the dorm. Jim took a moment to think of what he had saw, and heard before heading in himself.

* * *

 

McCoy only woke once that night. The snores of marines and Kirk were a quiet but constant noise. McCoy sat up in his borrowed bed in the dark dorm. Someone had a light on. Looking around McCoy caught sight of Hatfield, sitting at his desk, cleaning and checking the parts of his rifle in the hard white light of the desk lamp.


	3. The Delta-1-6

* * *

Kid huffed as he jogged, trying to catch up with the rest of the squad on the group run. They ran in full gear. Combat boots, tac vest, weapons, and a completely full pack were an added 60 pounds he wasn’t used to.

“All stop. Good job men. Stow your packs and get ready for formation drills.” called Sarge from the head of the pack as they finally made it back to the yard. Kid’s pack fell to the ground as he doubled over, trying to catch his breath. The weight off his shoulders felt good.

“You ok, Kid?” Kid glanced up to see Sarge standing in front of him. Sarge looked as if he didn’t even break a sweat. Kid grimaced.

“Sir, why do we gotta do these drills. Its barely past sunrise.” he groaned, bringing himself to a standing position.

“We do them so that when we’re in the field we dont fuck up and so we can keep each other alive.” Sarge said, reaching out and fixing the straps of Kid’s vest.

“Duke didn’t make us do drills.”

“Yeah… well look what happened to him.” Sarge paused, concentrating on the strap. Suddenly the vest felt looser, more comfortable and surprisingly lighter. Sarge tugged at the vest a few times before letting it go.

“There. You had it winched too tight. You’ll get more fluid movements when its looser, but not too loose.”

“Thanks Sarge.” Kid said as he leaned down to pick up his pack.

“Zach, look at me.”

Kid stood up and met Sarge’s gaze. He had let his game face down a bit, you could see it in his eyes. When Sarge spoke, it was gently and quiet so the others wouldn’t hear.

“Zach. If you don’t think you can do this I don’t want you pushing y-”

“Sir, no sir.” Kid interrupted, meeting Sarge’s concerned look with defiance. “I love my job.”

Sarge snorted and rolled his eyes, chuckling to himself as he turned.

“Go stow your shit Kid.”

* * *

McCoy stepped out of the dorm into the morning sunlight to see Hatfield and the squad in the yard. He had heard them from inside. They wore their field gear and had their weapons with them. Currently, Hatfield stood at the center of the yard, swinging his head back and forth watching the men move through the maneuver. The other men had been split into two groups.

“All around defense!” called Hatfield, resting his rifle in the crook of his arm. The men broke their previous formation and raced across the yard to where Hatfield stood, each taking a knee around him, rifles up and facing outward.

“Contact, 3 o’clock.” he called. As Hatfield turned to his right, bringing up his own rifle, the men who had been on his left stood and faced the same direction, evenly spacing themselves and making sure that no one was standing directly in front of a gun barrel.

“Secondary contact, rear.”

The men who had originally stood and turned to the three o’clock position, turned now to face the opposite direction. The men who had been kneeling stood up and kept facing their original way.

 

McCoy frowned slowly. It reminded him of training with the Olduvai company.

“Up to watch the morning show? You don’t have to stay if you don’t like it.” a voice jarred him from his thoughts.

McCoy turned and shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun. A woman with long wavy blonde hair stood on the porch, leaning on the railing as she watched the Marines. McCoy moved out of the sunlight and stood next to her.

“Yeah well, I heard them this morning when they left for their run.” he said, looking down at her. She wore combat boots, black jeans that were semi-faded and a thick forest green sweatshirt to keep out the morning chill. Double silver stud piercings glistened in her ears and at the ends of her pulled back hair were hints of faded orange and pink. A hand-held radio hung from her hip. She smiled at him, faking a wince.

“Ooh man, that’s early. Glad I slept in. Coffee? I can’t promise that its the best cup of joe but its hot.”

McCoy raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”

The woman reached down and picked up the large thermos that had been sitting at her feet, along with a pair of metal mugs. She poured herself a cup and then one for McCoy.

 

“Samantha Padreski, Control Technician for the Delta-1-6.” she said, introducing herself as she handed McCoy a cup.

“Dr. Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander of the USS Enterprise.” he said, taking the cup. He took a sip. She was right. It wasn’t the best coffee he had ever had, but the warmth itself tasted good.

“So you’re one of my boys’ VIPs then.” said Sam, facing the yard and leaning on the railing.

“Your boys? Shouldn’t you be out there with them then?” asked McCoy with a smirk. Samantha laughed.

“I’m civilian, thank god. I’d hate keeping their hours.” she took a sip of her coffee. “And yeah, ‘My boys’. I keep an eye out for them from Control like a hawk watching her babies. Don’t tell Sarge that. I’d never hear the end of it.”

McCoy chuckled.

“So Miss Padreski, if you don’t have to be out there with them, what are you doing up so early this chilly morning?” asked McCoy.

“At the asscrack of dawn? As their Conn Tech I like to know what they are doing. Helps me keep things in order. And please, call me Sam.”

 

Hatfield called out again. This time Hatfield patted the largest member of the squad, Boom, on the shoulder.

“Initial contact destroyed. Olson, you’re outta ammo. Kid, you’re gun’s jammed. Secondary contact still coming. Boom’s down. Man down! ”

Boom dropped to his knees. The men who had faced the primary target turned as those facing the secondary target moved forward and took a knee. They formed themselves in such a way to cover Boom and Hatfield, who had crouched beside him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Magazine!” called Olson, ejecting the perfectly full clip from his weapon. Portman fluidly handed him another without looking. Kid let his primary hang from him by its straps and pulled free his secondary weapon, a standard issue handgun.

They held this position for a long moment before Hatfield called again.

“Stabilized. Secondary contact destroyed.” He slipped Boom’s arm over his shoulder and they stood.

“Withdraw to the east end of the yard.”

The three of the ‘unharmed’ men who had been standing turned and moved in front of Hatfield and Boom scanning the open area in front of them. Those who had been kneeling stood and guarded the back. They moved as a single fluid cluster across the field, taking it slow to simulate an injured squad member.

 

“This is pretty cool.” said Kirk, as he and Spock stepped out of the dorm onto the porch. He caught glance of Sam standing with McCoy and grinned. “Reminds me of advanced combat training at the Academy. James T. Kirk, Captain of the USS Enterprise.” he said, standing up straighter as he walked over. McCoy rolled his eyes.

“You think this is cool? These are just the basics.” Sam said, knocking down the show off. “Coffee, Captain?” she offered. Kirk raised his eyebrows and frowned for a moment but let the face melt away.

“Thank you.” At least both Kirk and Hatfield were gracious in rejection.

“No problem. So the Enterprise is really up there?” Sam asked, holding out a cup of coffee for Kirk and Spock.

“Yep.” Kirk stood by the railing and looked up into the blue sky. They probably weren’t aligned to see the ship, but it was up there.

“Now that, is cool. I’ve seen the specs for the Enterprise and her computer system. I’d love to get in there one day and flick through her files if you catch my drift.” said Sam, sounding excited and wistful at the same time. Kirk laughed.

“You sound like my Chief Engineer.”

 

They four watched the men as they reached the eastern side of the yard. There they broke formation and stood listening to Hatfield as he described the next drill. From where they stood on the porch they could not hear it. Dagit and Mack broke off the from the group at Hatfield’s command. Dagit rushed forward a bit of the way across the field and then halted, gun up. Then Mack passed him and made the same distance farther up and stopped. They switched off doing this until they reached the end of the yard. Then the next pair followed.

Above them came a heavy steady thump that progressively got louder. All four on the porch looked up as the helicopter thundered overhead, heading for the hanger.

“That’ll be your ride out today to Glory Ridge.” Sam called over the noise. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make sure that it’s fueled and ready to go at departure time. Enjoy the coffee!” With that, Sam trotted down the stairs and jogged across the field, her cutting across their path didn’t phase the Marines at all. Only Hatfield took note and glanced up at the porch before shaking his head and returning to the drill.

* * *

 

 

“Mr. Spock. How are you enjoying your stay with us?” asked Jon as the squad filed in after they finished the morning’s exercises with hand-to-hand sparring practice in the yard. It was only 0800 by then. Each of them was covered in sweat and dirt. Spock looked up from the PADD in front of him. He had been writing the First Officer’s log report of arriving on Diogenes and the Captain’s interest in the Orion Station’s scientific operations. Kirk himself was currently being given a tour of Orion Station with Dr. McCoy.

“Sergeant Hatfield. I find the extent of scientific work being conducted here fascinating. And I am eager to see it for myself.” he stated flatly.

Jon turned the seat across the table from Spock and straddled it, taking a swig from his water bottle. From behind them there was a shouted “Hey Asshole! Give it back!” in the shower room and then a burst of laughter and some more swearing.

The two at the table glanced at the shower room. Jon laughed and shook his head.

“I’m sorry there aren’t any better accommodations to house you three, but it beats staying outside all night.”

“Indeed.” said Spock, looking down at his PADD again. “Sergeant?”

“Yes?”

“Is it common amongst Marines to be so casual with their superiors?” asked Spock. Another round of raucous laughter spilled from the shower room. “Come on Portman, we’re just fucking with you.” “Will you shitheads cut it out! I’m trying to shower.”

 

“Or to have such eloquent use of profanities.” added Spock when the noise died down. Jon grinned.

“We’re casual in our down time. I mean, what do you expect? We live together day in, day out. It forms bonds, which gives us even more of a reason to keep each other alive. Out in the field, its not about who’s on top or hierarchy, it’s about functioning seamlessly and getting everyone home.” said Jon.

“Damnit! I said cut it the fuck out!” came another yell from the showers. Jon laughed standing up from his seat.

“Now about the swearing? We’re Marines Mr. Spock, not debutants.”

“Fascinating.”

“What?”

“That is something that Doctor McCoy would say.”

 

A new man stepped into the dorm. “Sergeant Hatfield?”

“Yes?” said Hatfield, turning towards the door. His eyebrows scrunched. The man wore a pale green flightsuit.

“They’ve bumped up the 1-6’s departure time. You’ll be flying with 3-6-Zulu at 1000.” said the man briefly.

“Got it.” The other man nodded and headed out.

 

“Sarge?” came a voice from a speaker across the room. It was Sam’s voice. Hatfield crossed the room and stood by the receiver of the radio. Flicking a switch he answered.

“Yeah Pinkie?”

“They’ve moved you up. Take off at 1000.”

“They beat you to the punch Pinkie. Just got the news.”

“Damn.”

“We’re taking 3-6-Zulu right? What happened to the Hawk?”

“Water damage to its electrical system. It would have been a problem once you guys made it out there. I made the call to send it in for repairs. Cause you know the pilots are too damn proud to admit they let their craft get damaged.”

“Thanks Pinkie. Make sure 3-6 is ready. And find Kirk and McCoy, tell them to cut the tour short.”

“On it Sarge.”

 

Hatfield flicked off the radio. He turned to Spock who still sat watching.

“You heard the man. We leave in two hours. You’ll get to see our fascinating science all the sooner.”

With that Hatfield headed to the shower, whistle to get the squad’s attention. For a moment there silence except for the sound of running water. Some grumbling was emitted from the shower room, then a resounding “Yes sir!”

* * *

Jim and Bones waited by the helipad outside of the shuttle bay hanger for Spock and the Delta-1-6. Bones was looking over the helicopter that sat on the pad. It was black with its ID, BA36Z,  painted in white on the side. The starfleet logo was also in white on its main sliding doors. A crew of six men moved about it, checking it over before take off. The two pilots stood by its nose, discussing the planned flight path. Bones shook his head as he looked up at the sharp blades. He had gotten over flying in shuttles and being in space, but this he did not like.

_Nothing but sharp strips of metal being spun at incredible speeds to keep us in the air. Nothing but a combustion engine that could explode into an uncontrollable diesel fueled inferno at any moment to keep them moving. And nothing but empty space below them. All I’ve been through on the Enterprise… and I’m still scare of this._

Bones closed his eyes and took a slow deep breath, concentrating on what Jim was saying.

“-base is really amazing that it functions so well. Everything is like its straight out of the 21st century. Like the flux has caused us to go back in time.”

 

“Captain Kirk!”

Jim and Bones turned to see Sam weaving her way passed some Marines filling a utility truck and trotted over, her blonde waves bounced in the sunlight.

“Craft is cleared for take off. Once Sarge and the Delta-1-6 get here we’ll run a quick systems check on their hardware and then you guys will be ready to head out.” Sam informed them with a smile. She glanced at Bones.

“You ok Doctor? You look a little sick.”

“I’m fine. Not a big fan of flying that’s all.” he said, taking another deep breath.

“You do know… Its perfectly safe. I’ve checked everything over myself.” she said kindly.

“Ah, speak of the devil. Here they come.”  she said, looking past the two taller men.

They turned to see Spock and the Marines in their field gear walking casually towards the pad. Unlike their green field gear this morning, they wore black jumpsuits zipped up to their necks. Over this they wore their black tac vests, now heavier as they carried everything they needed in the various pockets. Black knee and elbow guards protected their joints, and each wore a utility belt that sported more pouches, their knife, and for some, their secondary weapon. Hatfield had his handgun on his right side in a thigh holster. On each of their shoulders was mounted a small cylinder camera, matching those along the barrels of their guns. Their black dog tags hung outside their vests. Everything was black except for the small sewn silver Starfleet logo on their chests. They all carried their primary weapon loosely, talking and laughing as they went.

 

“‘Bout time you showed up.” said Sam from behind them. Hatfield smiled, looking up and past the two men. Sam slid around them.

“We’re ready when you are Pinkie.” he said.

“Alright boys!” Sam called out. The squad fell silent and faced her. She grinned. “I love it when I get to do that. Radio Communications check. Usual frequency.”

Each man adjected the radio that sat at the center of their chest and slipped on the microphoned earpieces. As they did this Sam explained to the other three, “Normal communicators don’t work down on the planet due to the Flux. But we’ve found that, for some reason, wireless radio and visual transmissions are still able to get through. So we rely on long range radios for communications.” She slipped in her own radio earpiece and adjusted the device. With a nod to the men they began their check.

 

“Sarge Check.” “Auger Check.” “Boom Check.”  “Dagit Check.” “Portman Check.” “Olson Check.” “Mack Check.” “Kid Check.”

 

“We’re good.” said Sam. “The pilots are finishing their checks now Sarge. Give me a sec to get to Control and we’ll finish ours.”

“Thanks Pinkie.” said Hatfield. Sam walked off toward the building beneath the central tower. Hatfield turned to the three.

“We’ll be going out to the main outpost to the south on Glory Ridge. Hosts Dr. Mika’tan’s biolabs, along with Stahl Frobisher’s Flux lab. Technically its all one big complex built out of mobile labs being jigsawed together. In flight I want you three to be in the middle jump seats. So far there isn’t anything that can really take us in the sky, but we still fly with someone on a door gun, so its going to be very loud and very windy.” said Hatfield, coming to a shout over the noise of a large truck rumbling by. There was a single squawk on his radio.

 

“Alright Pinkie. Put us up.” Sarge said into his comm.

“Activating remote personal surveillance.” came the female voice from the radio set.

“Circle up.” called Sarge to the squad. The squad moved out into the open space between the helipad and the trucks, forming a closed circle that had them facing each other. Jim , Spock and Bones stood off the to side. Bones folded his arms with his usual scowl as Jim watched intently.

“On my three. One… Two… Three.” In perfect unison there was the sound of guns cocking as each member of the squad brought their weapon up and aimed at the team member of their choosing. Then there was silence from them. Jim had jumped at the sound and stared at the group shocked. He glanced at Bones who had watched hadn’t even twitched, and then back to the group. Pinkie’s voice cut the silence.

“Killcams and shoulder mounts up and running Sarge.”

The team let their weapons drop down, reengaging their safeties, as casually as if looking down the barrel of a gun wasn’t anything new.

“Thanks Pinkie. Men, board up.”

“You know I really hate the call name you gave me.” Pinkie sassed across the radio. Jon smirked.

“Well, you shouldn’t have had pink dreadlocks when you first came onto the team sweetheart.”

“Kiss my ass Jon.”

The squad chuckled as they filed past Kirk and McCoy, up the ramp onto the helicopter.

 

Jim turned to Bones, starting to form words and then catching himself with another. Finally he managed to say, “What was that?”

“Killcam check. They give the Con a visual readout of what each of them are seeing.”

“No, I get that. But why did they aim at each other?”

Bones paused before he spoke.

“They aim at each other because if you can’t trust your squad with your life when they have their weapon trained on you then you shouldn’t be a squad.”

* * *

The trio boarded the helicopter as it was starting its engines. Kirk finally understood why they were called ‘choppers’. As the blades above them got up to speed the sound was incredibly loud. He strapped himself into his seat and took the headset that Olson handed him. The heavy headset muffled the sound of the blades and allowed Kirk to listen in on the conversation being carried through the microphones on each set.

“Everybody’s in. Take us up.” said Sarge as he took his spot by the open door across from them. The helicopter lurched and began to slowly lift off the ground. Kirk looked around and saw that both sliding doors on either side of the chopper were open. Dagit sat at a door gun, harnessed to a safety bar, but hanging his legs out.

 

“Take off of Beta-Alpha-3-6-Zulu. Destination, Glory Ridge Scientific Outpost. Estimated arrival forty five minutes.” came the calm voice of the pilot. The chopper tilted forward and then gathered speed. Kirk felt the wind rushing around them and looked out one of the doors to see the landscape speeding by below them.

He heard someone laughing over the com.

“Still got aviophobia McCoy?” said Sarge. Kirk looked over at Bones and found that he had his eyes closed and hands tightly gripping the straps of his harness. Sarge leaned forward and pushed Bones’ knee. Bones opened his eyes and glared at the Marine.

“Do I need to get you a barf bag?” he laughed. Kirk could hear Sarge’s men laughing over the sound of the wind in the com.

“Shut up Hatfield.” was Bones’ only reply.

 

Hatfield leaned back with a grin.

“You there Pinkie?” he said into his headset.

“Always Sarge.”

“Got a playlist to put Doctor McCoy at ease up here?”

“Do I ever let you down?”

There was the sound of a squawk over their headsets and then music flooded the helicopter, rock music.

“Damnit Hatfield. Cut the music! I’m sick of your Con-Tech hacking our system.” The copilot yelled over the headsets, trying to be heard through the music. He had turned in his seat and glared back at Sarge.

“Sorry? What was that? I can’t hear you.” shouted back Hatfield, miming out that ‘he couldn’t hear them’. The copilot glared at Hatfield some more and then shook his head. There was no fighting it.

 

* * *

 

 


	4. Glory Ridge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Chapter Title: You Gotta Take What You Dish Out

The helicopter hovered over the launch pad before touching down with a lurch. The pilots kept the engines running as Hatfield and the squad unharnessed and jumped out. Kirk moved to undo his own belts, but McCoy reached over and stopped him.

“Not yet.”

They watched through the open doors. Hatfield and his team created a perimeter around the chopper, facing out and weapons up. They carefully scanned the trees that bordered the pad, slowly advancing. Over the headsets in the helicopter they heard Hatfield ask,

“Any heat signatures Pinkie?” There was a pause before Sam replied.

“No Sarge.”

The continued their scan for a few moments longer and then Hatfield called.

“All clear. Shut her down.”

The blades of the helicopter whined as the power was cut and they began to slow. The Delta-1-6 held their weapons in a more relaxed fashion, but kept their heads moving to eye on the tree line.

“Now we can get out.” said McCoy, undoing his own belts.

Hatfield walked back to the helicopter and waited by the door. McCoy was the last to hop out. As he landed his ankle gave slightly, causing him to stumble. Instinctively he reached out, catching Hatfield’s arm as the Marine reached out to catch him.

“You ok Doctor?” asked Hatfield looking a little concerned.

“I’m fine.” said McCoy, regaining his footing. He frowned at Hatfield, more out of the flare of embarrassment than of true anger, and jerked his arm free. McCoy walked over to where Kirk and Spock stood facing down the dirt and gravel road. The gray steel of the outpost’s exterior could be seen down the road and through the trees.

“You’re welcome!” called Hatfield after McCoy’s retreating back. Hatfield rolled his eyes and huffed out a sigh, turning back to the helicopter.

“You guys coming in or staying here?”

“Sticking here.” replied the pilot, finishing up the system shutdown sequence.

“Alright. I’m keeping two guys with you. Dagit. Portman.” said Hatfield into his comm. “Stay with our ride.”

“Yes Sarge.”

 

The rest of the squad waited with the three VIPs. Sarge rejoined the group and led the way down the road. He didn’t say anything for the squad to follow. Each member of the group kept their head on a swivel, the VIPs taking in the sights of the new environment and the soldiers assessing any possible danger.

 

The trees were thick all around them. Tall and imposing, they kept most of the sunlight from reaching the forest floor. Green and blue-green broad leaves and needles hung over them. The forest floor was dominated by dull red-brown dirt, some short thick shrubs, leaf and needle litter turned yellow and brown from decay and dark slate rock where it was visible. At the end of the road stood a small diesel truck, used to carry supplies to and from the helipad.

As the group stepped out into the area of forest that had been cleared, the outpost came into view. All one level, the industrial like trailers stood off the ground on support beams. Large steel cubes were joined together by smaller ones, creating halls and passages. Hatfield led the way to one of the smaller cubes and to the heavy door. The squad fanned out behind them, keeping an eye on the treeline.

“Fair warning. Dr. Mika’tan isn’t one who likes to be disturbed, and he’s full of himself. If we’re lucky Frobisher is a lot more open to having visitors. He’ll talk your ear off about physics if he could get the chance.”

Next to the door, Hatfield punched in a code on the number pad. There was a soft beep and then a voice came from the speaker.

“Sergeant Hatfield. We weren’t expecting the Delta-1-6 for rotation until next week.” The person on the other end spoke clearly and eloquently.

“Special case Doctor. Three Starfleet VIPs to visit the labs.”

“Visitors. Sargeant, the work we do here is very important. Take your  _V-I-P_ s and go away.”

Hatfield rolled his eyes. “Doctor Mika’tan. They are the Major’s guests, not mine. We’ve already gone through the trouble of coming all the way out here.”

There was an audible sigh.

“Doctor. I am not just turning around. I will override the door lock if I need to.”

No reply. Hatfield sighed and said under his breath, “Stubborn old son of a-” Then he spoke clearly.

“Security override 88B. Sergeant Major Jonathan Hatfield. Clearance Code: Juliett-India-Hotel-3-2-”

“Alright! Alright.”

There was a hiss and a dull thud as the locking system disengaged.

“Thank you.”

 

The rest of the squad remained outside as Hatfield led the into the complex. The first cube was a small plain lobby with two hallways leading off in either direction. The floor was a metal grating, keeping those walking on it above piping and wiring, all exposed for easy access. The walls were bare except for the Starfleet science division logo in blue. White light shone over them from strip lamps in the ceiling, placed in such a way that their light would not be obstructed by the wiring and ductwork that lay over their heads.

There was the sound of stomping feet on the metal grating from the hallway to the left.

“ _V-I-P_ s. How fancy. Probably some damn corporate representatives brought in by Starfleet to see the work I’m doing here. Try to steal my research data and make a profit on the hard…” came a mumbling voice that accompanied the footsteps. A man wearing a blue Starfleet Science shirt and a white lab coat stomped into the ‘lobby’.

“Dr. Mika’tan. How lovely to find you in such a receptive mood.” said Hatfield sarcastically with an amused smile.

“Hatfield. I will have none of your sass today. I am a very busy man with many scientific discoveries to make. Now Frobisher isn’t coming into his lab until tomorrow, so you’re stuck with me.” said Mika’tan, scowling at Hatfield and then the rest of the group.

“Doctor. This is Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise and his two crew members Mr. Spock and Doctor McCoy.” said Hatfield ignoring the researcher’s rudeness.

“A Doctor? Really. A doctor of what.” said Mika’tan with a condescending tone. McCoy began to open his mouth and say something rude in return, but Spock intervened.

“Doctor McCoy is one of the most skilled surgeons in all of Starfleet.” Then Spock switched topics. “Doctor Mika’tan. I have read many of your published works and find your theories quite fascinating. We would be honored if you could show us your laboratory space, and perhaps, some of your exquisite work.” Spock was obviously pandering to Mika’tan, but it worked.

“Fascinating? A Vulcan fascinated in the work I do… Well, why not. Come along.” With that Mika’tan led the way back down the hallway. Kirk followed first, then Spock and McCoy. Hatfield shook his head, laughing quietly to himself.

 

“Thank you Mr. Spock.” said McCoy quietly. Spock looked over his shoulder.

“For what Doctor?”

“For… Oh nevermind.”

* * *

 

_This is actually really really boring._  Thought McCoy as he pretended to listen. Dr. Mika’tan was going on and on about how important his research was and how it was going to change the world, which world he didn’t specify. Luckily McCoy was off to Mika’tan’s side, so he only had to look like he was listening as the man sang his own praises.

_Poor Jim. He’s standing right in front of the guy. Has to actually actively listen._

McCoy glanced over to where Hatfield stood behind Mika’tan, leaning against the back wall. He looked as bored as McCoy felt. Hatfield let his weapon hang from its straps, his arms crossed over his chest. He let his head rest against the wall behind him. He stared at the back of Mika’tan’s head but it was obvious his thoughts were elsewhere.

Down the wall from Hatfield, the door there quietly hissed open. A woman in a blue Starfleet Science division shirt and a lab coat of her own stepped quietly into the room, looking around. Her skin was a dark taupe with small spots of grays and white. A mess of short gray-white quill-like spikes stuck out of her head instead of hair. Her eyes were pitch black except for the silver and bronze flecked irises. She glanced at McCoy and gave him a small smile, before catching sight of Hatfield and walking over to him. She only came up to Hatfield’s shoulder. He leaned his head down to her as she went up to whisper in his ear. McCoy was close enough to hear her quiet words.

“I am glad you are here Sergeant Major -tha. Could you please come me to the lab -tha?”

“Oh thank god. Anything to get me out of this. I feel like I'm dying.” breathed Hatfield with a relieved smile. The woman smiled and stifled a laugh. “Come along -tha.”

Hatfield stood up straight and followed after the woman, meeting McCoy’s eye as he passed. Mika’tan was too engrossed in what he was saying to notice them at all. McCoy glanced at Mika’tan and then back at Hatfield.

“Now when I published that report on the mucus of the microscopic-” came Mika’tan’s voice louder. Without a second hesitation McCoy followed after the pair out of the lab.

 

The door closed behind him.

“You’re right. Dr. Mika’tan is full of himself.” said McCoy meeting the pair.

“You have no idea. He talks slower than fresh molasses flowing in January.” said Hatfield readjusting his rifle, hanging it across his back instead of at his waist.

“I take it that molasses flows rather slowly in January then -tha.” the taupe woman said giggling and looking away as McCoy looked at her.

“Doctor McCoy. This is Layla-tha, one of Mika’tan’s research assistants. Layla-tha. This is Doctor Leonard McCoy, Chief Medical Officer aboard the USS Enterprise.” introduced Hatfield. McCoy offered his hand with a nod. Layla-tha took the hand and shook it gently.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Doctor Leonard McCoy -tha. Your name means ‘Lionhearted Son of Fire’ -tha.” she said, looking bashfully down again.

“Ohh fancy.” joked Hatfield, starting to lead the way down the hall.

“It is a very noble sounding name -tha. Much better than a ‘god given weed field’ -tha.” said Layla-tha, joking back as she followed. The comment brought a grin to McCoy’s face. Hatfield turned and walked backwards, faking a hurt look and holding a hand over his heart.

“Ouch Layla-tha. That hurt.”

Layla-tha rolled her eyes and laughed.

 

“So what is wrong Layla-tha?” asked Hatfield, turning around.

“It is Rex -tha.”

“Rex?”

“He is not eating -tha. And I have become worried -tha.”

 

They turned down into a different hall and then came to another door. Layla-tha took her security card and swiped it down the control pad. The door slid open and there was a flurry of new sounds McCoy had never heard before.

“I’ll see what I can do.” said Hatfield, stepping into the lab. It was large, brightly lit and had a clean white clinical feel to it. Tall green plants in pots stood around the room reaching up to the high ceiling. Some brightly colored flowers here and there were visible amongst the foliage. Along the walls opposite and to the left of the door stood a bank of clear, well kept cages, hosting a number of live specimens of zoological life found on the planet. Their cages trying to replicate their natural environment as best as possible. The third wall was dominated by a large viewing window, looking into another study area.

“This is our zoological and botanical laboratory -tha. We collect and observe samples from the planet and keep them here so that we may observe and document them -tha.” said Layla-tha, coming into the lab last, standing next to McCoy. “This is one of the few biological studies labs not under Dr. Mika’tan’s supervision -tha. That is most likely why it is so much nicer -tha.”

There was a screech from somewhere in the room. McCoy looked up in time to see a bright green and yellow form coming down from the high ceiling, swooping over their heads and making for Hatfield. McCoy and Layla-tha both ducked as it passed overhead. Whatever it was latched onto Hatfield’s back with a force that pushed him forward slightly.

“What the h-”

“Hey Rex!” said Hatfield with a smile. The creature’s size was about as big as Hatfield’s chest. It was shaped like a lemur with long arms and legs, and a long tail. Except it’s face was long like a lizard’s, eye set on either side of its face, and had a long neck. It had flaps of skin that started on its forearms and extended to its knees, like a flying squirrel. And it was scaled and brightly colored with greens, yellows, reds, and blues. It had a large claws like raptor birds at the ends of its three fingers and toes. It eyed McCoy with golden yellow eyes and hissed at him, exposing a row of thin sharp teeth.

“The hell is that?” asked McCoy, his heart pounding from the sudden excitement.

“This is Rex.” said Hatfield, looking up at the head that extended over his shoulder. “Go on Rex. Say ‘hi’.”

Rex screeched again at McCoy.

“Rex is a Trellex -tha. A species common to the planet out here in the forests -tha.”

“Good boy.” Hatfield smiled to Rex, reaching up to scratch Rex’s bony head. Rex hissed and latched his mouth down onto Hatfield’s hand. McCoy breathed in sharply, but Hatfield didn’t even flinch. In fact, he laughed at McCoy’s reaction. Hatfield gently shook his hand free, showing that there was no blood or even a mark on his exposed fingers. Walking over to one of the work benches he picked up some chunks of cut fruit there and started to hold them up for Rex to examine.

“Rex is a herbivore. Trellex teeth are retractable, like springs. They get pushed back into their gums when they eat and they swallow their fruit whole.” said Hatfield. Rex sniffled the fruit and then poked at it with his snout. Hatfield watched intently. With a sigh he took of the bite himself and then held it up again. Rex sniffled it and then lapped up the fruit chunk. As he ate the fruit, Rex’s teeth did seem to slide in an out of his gums.

“Why do they have sharp teeth then?” asked McCoy, letting his tense muscles relax.

“To look like predators. The more dangerous you look the less likely something is going to want to mess with you.”

“The Sergeant Major found Rex when he was rejected by his mother after hatching -tha. Most likely to care for the larger hatchlings of his clutch -tha. He took care of Rex and now Rex recognizes him and responds to him best -tha.” said Layla-tha to McCoy with a smile. Hatfield scratched Rex’s boney head and fed him more fruit chunks, murmuring little encouragements.

“What? It thinks Hatfield is its mother?” asked McCoy raising an eyebrow.

Layla-tha laughed.

“We have speculated as much Doctor McCoy -tha. Sergeant has this effect with many of the creatures we house here -tha. He is quite knowledgeable in the matters of xeno-zoology -tha. I am surprised he isn’t among us wearing a lab coat -tha. You have known Sergeant Hatfield before this -tha?”

Rex gurgled happily and then leapt off of Hatfield’s back, climbing up one of the taller tree-like plants in the lab.

McCoy frowned, thinking back on their short time in college. Hatfield had begun studying xenobiology while McCoy went into the medical program. Those days had been good but short. Then everything had changed.

“Yes. I knew him back before he joined the military and started killing people.” he said. Hatfield caught his words and turned to the pair.

“I don’t kill people McCoy. I do what I can to protect them.” he said, matching McCoy’s frown. Layla-tha looked between them very hesitantly. “Unlike you, I try to keep them from getting hurt in the first place.” Hatfield added.

Luckily the tension was cut by the sound of a deep growl. Hatfield went tense, pulling free his secondary weapon instantly and looking about.

“The fuck was that Layla?” he asked.

“It is quite safe -tha. Dr. Mika’tan’s latest experiment -tha.” she said, crossing past Hatfield to the large observation window. Hatfield and McCoy joined her. The window looked out over a pit that held a single, large white furred animal with a long tail.

“What the fuck is he doing with a Da’Kruk?! How the hell did he get it?” said Hatfield, not putting away his gun. The Da’Kruk was a pale white with a large pale brown-red patch of fur on its back. A thick metal collar held its head low, connected to the floor by heavy chains. Tubes and electrodes were attacked all over its body. Fluids pumped both in and out, and blood seeped from the points where the connections weren’t properly made.

“The Agora Squad found it near the outpost the last time they were out here -tha. They managed to take it down but Mika’tan requested that it be kept alive so he could experiment -tha.” said Layla-tha, sounding both sad and angry at the same time. Hatfield put his handgun back in its holster. McCoy looked down on the creature, intimidated by its size but also feeling sorry for it. The Da’Kruk lashed its tail angrily, but then whimpered at the effort.

“This is sick.” said Hatfield, sounding disgusted. “No creature should be trapped like that.”

 

_‘Trapped like that.’ Trapped… the screams… the shaking… the explosion… the screams…  trapped… the smell of burning… flashes of light… the screams… ‘Leo!’ … trapped._

McCoy sucked in a deep breath and held it. Closing his eyes against the memories. He held his breath for a moment and then let it out. Layla-tha and Hatfield hadn’t noticed his episode. They continued to look down on the Da’Kruk.

 

_How? How could he show such pity? After all he had done. It was his fault. After he let that happen._

Hatfield looked up and met McCoy’s cold stare.

 

“I didn’t know you could care so much about life Hatfield.”

* * *

 

The flight back to Orion Station was quiet. Again, Pinkie’s music played through the headsets and the Marines talked and joked with each other, but Hatfield kept reserved. McCoy observed him as he sat straight in his seat, naturally rocking with the turbulence of the helicopter, but he watched the floor, his mind elsewhere. Every so often one of the Marines would ask him a question to try and engage him in conversation, but Hatfield would answer the question and say no more.

“What’s eating him?” McCoy heard whispered over the headsets.

 

After they had left the zoological lab Hatfield led McCoy back to Dr. Mika’tan’s lab. He didn’t speak at all. It was all silent except for the sounds of the outpost’s mechanical systems and the thud of their footsteps on the metal grating. Hatfield left McCoy with Kirk and Spock and then disappeared.

McCoy didn’t see him again until they left the outpost, heading back towards the helicopter. It was about 1600 then. Hatfield wasn’t with the four Marines who waited outside the outpost. Instead, they found him sitting on the floor of the helicopter, his legs dangling out and his rifle across his lap, looking out into the trees. He had his back to them. When Hatfield glanced back at the approaching group, McCoy caught the tired look in his eye, but it passed too quickly for him to get a better look.

“Wheels up in five?” asked Hatfield to the pilots in the cabin, who had been lounging.

“No problem.” said the lead pilot, standing up and stretching. Hatfield nodded and climbed up to his feet.

“Fall in.” he said, calling the squad to get into the helicopter. “Let’s go home.”

Hatfield hadn’t even acknowledged the pilots’ complaints when the music began to fill the chopper once more.

 

McCoy watched Hatfield in the helicopter. Though Hatfield didn’t meet anyone’s eye, he still had that tired look about him. The rest of his body betrayed nothing. Just his eyes.

 

The helicopter touched ground again at Orion Station, the lurch catching Kirk and McCoy off again. The straps left McCoy with sore spots across his shoulders and chest. Hatfield was the first up and off the chopper. As they began the walk back to the barracks Hatfield silently led the way.

“Sergeant Hatfield! Sergeant!”

Hatfield looked up and around for the source of the noise. The Major’s personal assistant Gregor appeared and trotted up to the group.

“Glad I caught you all. Captain Kirk. The Major has requested that you and your crewmen join him in his quarters for dinner tonight. 1900 hours. Nothing fancy or formal.”

Kirk nodded. “Of course we will come.”

“Excellent.” smiled Gregor. Hatfield subdued a shiver. He always hated how that man smiled.

“I’ll have them at the Major’s quarters by 18:45.” said Hatfield, turning to start walking again.

“You’re invited too Sergeant.” said Gregor.

“Thank you. But I’d rather eat with my men.”

“I don’t think you understand Hatfield. The Major specially requested that you dine with him as well.”

Hatfield let out a long slow sigh, breathing out his irritation.

“Very well.” he said, sounding defeated.

With that, Gregor nodded and walked off. Hatfield once again led the way back to the barracks, and again he was quiet. Kid trotted up from the back of the group, glancing at McCoy as he passed, and fell into step with Hatfield.

“Sarge?”

“Yeah Kid?”

“You seem kinda outta it. Not right like you normally are. You ok? No disrespect or anythin’. Its just I’m- we’re a little worried about ya’.” Kid said timidly, keeping his voice down and throwing a glance or two over his shoulder back at the guys and the VIPs.

“Yeah. I’m fine Kid.”

“You sure Sarge?”

Hatfield chuckled. A small smile found its way to his face. Sarge reached out and gently shoved Kid offstep.

“Yeah I’m sure. And its not your job to worry about me so quit it.”

Kid smiled as he caught his footing and kept walking with Sarge.

* * *

 

The three hours intervening between touching down and leading Kirk, Spock, and McCoy across the complex to the Major’s quarters had gone by too quickly, thought Hatfield. There were things he had to do, things he could be doing. Like having the men check over their weapons before storing them for the night. Getting them up and moving doing some evening drills. Filling out reports on what little had happened at the outpost. Sparring with Boom to relieve some of his built up tension. But there hadn’t been enough time

Now he led the trio through the evening light across the station. They had retired their outer away-mission uniforms and wore their colored Starfleet uniforms. It was strange to see such bright yellow and blue amongst the dark green, brown, gray, and black. Sergeant Hatfield wore something similar in the dark forest green of the Starfleet Marine Corp, made of a heavier, more durable material. There was only one silver band at the cuff of his sleeves, indicating that he was an Enlisted soldier, and on the upper arm of each of his sleeves there was the rank symbol of a Sergeant Major. Three silver arches stacked upon each other over three stacked pointed Vs, a white star at the center of the open space between them on a red background. The silver Starfleet Delta was sewn over his heart, right above a sewn patch stating ‘J.I. HATFIELD’.

The Major’s quarters, like most important things, were near the center of the complex. He had a building just smaller than one of the barracks all to himself. The Major’s personal assistant opened the door for them. The interior was very ordered, but nicely decorated. Instead of hard tile floor there was polished wood, mostly covered by carpets. Instead of dark gray steel walls, the walls were covered in a deep red wallpaper. Even though the decorations were sparse, the space seemed opulent compared to the rest of the station.

“Come on in.” they heard the Major call from beyond the door. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy entered first. Hatfield entered and stood upright and tense. Gregor led them to a combination sitting room and dining room where the Major sat waiting.

“Evening Gentlemen. Please sit.” Kirk took the armchair across from Major Wilkins. Spock the other single chair. That left the small couch, which McCoy sat down upon. Hatfield remained standing, still tense at the ‘relaxed’ attention.

“There’s no need for formality now Hatfield. Its just dinner. Go ahead and sit down if you want.” said Wilkins, who wore a casual uniform very similar to Hatfield’s, except that it had two gold stripes on the sleeve cuffs and the Major rank sigil near the collar.

“Be a good little soldier.” muttered McCoy under his breath, throwing a joking look Hatfield. While he did take a more relaxed position, something in Hatfield’s eyes sparked. He met McCoy’s glance before saying, “Forgive me Major. I’d prefer to stand.”

Major Wilkins raised an eyebrow but decided not to pursue the matter further. “That’s alright. We have one more coming anyway.”

“Speak of the devil and the devil will answer.” came a new voice with an Australian accent. Gregor led a lean man with tan skin and long black hair pulled back behind his head. Thick black rimmed glasses were perched upon the bridge of his nose. He looked slightly disheveled and tired.  “Stahl Frobisher at your service.” the man said, stretching out his arms.

“Frobisher.” said Wilkins, standing up and extending a hand. “You look like hell.”

“Well what do you expect?” said Frobisher, shaking the hand. “I get in at 6:15 this evening from a long and arduous flight, crash on my cot here, and then get your PA coming up and telling me you want me for dinner at 7. You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t look like a daisy.” Wilkins laughed and the rest smiled.

“You didn’t have to come if you were so tired.”

“You offered me free food. Of course I was going to come.” smiled Frobisher.

“May I introduce Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise and two of his senior crew, Commander Spock and Lieutenant Commander Dr. McCoy.” Frobisher shook each of their hands.

“We saw the Enterprise on our way in, beautiful ship. I had the Captain hail over and got a chance to talk with your Chief Engineer Mr. Scott. I wish I had a brilliant mind like his down here, think he’d go for being one of my research partners?”

Kirk laughed. “I’m not sure he would willingly leave the Enterprise so easily.”

“I wouldn’t blame him.”

“You know Sergeant Hatfield.” said Wilkins.

“Of course. Its good to see you again Jon.” said Frobisher shaking Hatfield’s hand like old acquaintances. But he held it longer than the others. “I’m sorry to hear about Duke.” Hatfield nodded.

“Something we won’t let happen again.” he said.

 

“Dinner is ready sir.” said Gregor from across the room.

“Ah. Good. Gentlemen, if you’ll join me.” said Wilkins turning towards the dining table. Wilkins took the head of the table and the others sat at the side. McCoy and Hatfield ended up seated across from each other. Gregor went around pouring wine for each of the Major’s guests. Hatfield stopped him before he poured wine into his cup.

“No thank you.” he said respectfully.

“That’s right Hatfield. I forgot you don’t drink. Can I offer you anything else?”

“Water is fine sir.”

“Drop the ‘sirs’ wont you. This is all casual son.” said Wilkins with a grin. Hatfield grinned in return.

“Well then, with all due respect, I’d rather be eating with my men.”

“So they did hand the Delta-1-6 to you Jon?” asked Frobisher, starting to eat at the food placed before him.

“Yes. I was recalled from leave and took over command yesterday.”

“Sorry about your leave, but its a good choice for the 1-6.”

McCoy, who had been taking a sip of his wine, sniffed at the comment. Everyone caught notice, but only Hatfield shot a glare at McCoy.

“Do you not agree Doctor McCoy?” asked Wilkins. Kirk watched McCoy with a wary eye. McCoy met Hatfield’s glare before speaking.

“Not necessarily. I’m sure that is a very good soldier, but given his past record, I’m not sure he should be leading men.”

“You’re talking about Olduvai aren’t you. Cause if you want to talk about past records let me-” Hatfield started.

“Hatfield.” cut in the Major. Hatfield fell silent immediately, clenching his jaw.

“McCoy… now I know where I’ve heard that name before.” said the Major. “The Delta-1-6 is one of my best. Sergeant Hatfield’s men give him well earned loyalty and respect, which he returns in kind. And because of this they are the best tactical squad on this entire station. Duke, god rest him, was a figurehead for the squad, Hatfield taking lead on practically all the Ops they ever ran. He’s strong, clever, clear headed, and efficient. Now I know Hatfield’s past. All of it. And given the shit storm that was the Olduvai Mine, I personally think he made the right decision. I think you should give him the respect he deserves.”

“Oh really?” asked McCoy.

“Yes. I do.” said Wilkins, looking him straight in the eye.

* * *

 

The rest of the dinner passed rather uneventfully. Spock and Frobisher discussed the Flux and the Enterprise. Where Spock retained his monotonous ‘logical’ tone throughout the conversation, Frobisher would, at parts, become very animated and excited. Kirk and Wilkins discussed the state of affairs of Starfleet off planet. Kirk describing the goal of the Enterprise’s five-year mission. Hatfield and McCoy remained quiet for the most part, listening to the talk. Every so often they would glance at each other, and simply the sight of the other sent a spark of fury through them.

_Hatfield’s jaw must be getting tired from clenching so damn much…. good._  thought McCoy, throwing another glare in Hatfield’s direction.

 

“I forgot to ask at the beginning of dinner, how was your trip out to Glory Ridge?” asked Wilkins, leaning back in his chair.

“It was… interesting.” said Kirk, with a small smile. “Dr. Mika’tan was very… very informative.”

“The egotistical bastard talked your ear off didn’t he?” said Frobisher. “Did he tell you about the time he discovered…. something or rather about that microscopic mucus… thing? I’ve heard that story about 40 times myself, everytime I forget to lock the lab...”

Kirk and Wilkins laughed. “Actually yes. He got around to that.”

“Oh poor man. I’m so sorry.”

“No, no. It’s quite alright. I am very impressed with the kinds of work being done. Dr. McCoy told me about the zoological and botanical lab. And I’d love to see your lab Dr. Frobisher, if you wouldn’t mind.” said Kirk, scratching an eyebrow with his thumb.

“I wouldn’t mind at all if we could manage it.” said Frobisher, looking to the Major. “They could probably fly out with me tomorrow morning.”

The Major chewed on the inside of his lip for a moment.

“You sure you want to stay longer? What about your five-year mission?” he asked.

“Well Major, we do have five years. Stopping for one day longer won’t do any harm. Plus I’m sure those on the Enterprise enjoy the impromptu break.” said Kirk. Wilkins thought a moment before letting out his breath.

“Alright. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you.”

Frobisher leaned back in his chair and tried to stifle a large yarn, stretching out his arms.

“I think I’m going to call it a night Major. The sun if down, the moons are up. Stahl’s had a long day, and he decides its time to sleep.” said Frobisher. Wilkins chuckled.

“Then I guess that concludes dinner. Kirk? Will you all be heading back as well?”

“I was actually wondering if you wouldn’t mind showing us the rest of the complex. Our tour this morning got cut a little short.”

“I don’t mind at all.” Wilkins said. The men at the table stood and began pushing chairs in.

“If you don’t mind Jim. I think I’ll head back myself.” McCoy said to Kirk. They both glanced at the Major, who nodded.

“Hatfield. Please accompany Doctors Frobisher and McCoy to their lodgings. I’ll see Captain Kirk and Spock back myself.”

Hatfield stood up straighter, and nodded. He glanced at McCoy but didn’t say anything.

“And make sure you behave yourselves.”

“Yes sir.”

Wilkins nodded, dismissing Hatfield.

* * *

 

Frobisher’s temporary housing was close to where the Major’s quarters were located.

“Good night Doctor Frobisher.” said Hatfield as they arrived at the man’s door.

“Good night Jon. Oh! Will the Delta-1-6 be coming out with us tomorrow?”

“Yep. We’re assigned to the Captain as security detail.”

“Right… You gonna be ok?” Frobisher asked, lowering his voice and glancing back at McCoy.

Hatfield took a deep breath before speaking. “I’ll be fine.” He forced a reassuring smile onto his face.

“Alright...See you in the morning then.”

“See you in the morning.”

 

It was not until they had crossed the main yard and began heading down the road to the dorm that Hatfield turned on McCoy.

“What the fuck was that.” he demanded, growling as he tried to keep his voice down. McCoy took a step back, intimidated for a moment but then took back his ground. He scowled and moved past Hatfield, ignoring him.

“Hey. I’m talking to you.” Hatfield said, grabbing McCoy’s arm tightly and stopping him. The force of the grip surprised McCoy, but he didn’t flinch. “What the fuck was that back there?”

Again McCoy didn’t answer. He pulled his arm free of Hatfield’s grip. He began walking again.

“Look… Fine. I get it. You hate me. But you don’t go and insult me. And you sure as hell don’t do it in front of my CO.” Again McCoy didn’t respond. “God McCoy! You’re such a child.”

McCoy spun. “I’m the child?!” He took a threatening step towards Hatfield, which Hatfield met in kind.

“Yes! You are! I have tried to be civil with you ever since I showed up on that tin can and all you have been is petty!”

McCoy clenched his jaw.

“And I’m not so sure what’s pissing you off. Is it my mere presence? Cause I tried to stay out of your life McCoy. I really did. I took the job that would get me the farthest away from you, and its not my fault that the fates decided to fuck with us, tossing us back together again.”

McCoy’s hands were balled into fists.

“Now look,” Hatfield said, trying to speak calmly, “What happened on Olduvai… I… Damnit. What happened, happened. And neither of us can go back and do otherwise.”

“I don’t want to talk about this.” snarled McCoy, starting to leave again.

“Then when will you McCoy? What it did to us-”

“You know  **nothing**  about what it did to me! What it still does.” shouted McCoy, cutting off Hatfield, who strode quickly in his wake.

“You think you’re the only one who gets nightmares?!” Hatfield shouted back. “You think you’re the only one who turned to drink to tried and drown it out?! Damnit man! Olduvai still affects me just as much as it does you.”

“Oh you  _really_  look it!” McCoy said sarcastically, turning once more and staring down Hatfield. “A fucking Marine?! Really Hatfield!”

“Oh, so its the job then.” said Hatfield, throwing out his arms.

“No! Its because the job, this place… this is the life he wanted. And you didn’t give him a chance!”

The fury in Hatfield’s eyes was extinguished. McCoy’s fury still raged on.

“I trie-”

“No! You didn’t.” shouted McCoy cutting Hatfield off. “You’re a goddamn liar Hatfield. We made a promise and you broke it.”

McCoy turned again. They were within the Delta-1-6’s yard now. The anger in Hatfield’s eyes was rekindled.

 

“Damnit Leonard! You’re right! Its all my fault! And I deserve everything I get. Now if you want to beat the crap out of me just do it!” Hatfield yelled at McCoy’s’ retreating back. He followed, reaching out to grab McCoy’s arm.

“I’m goddamn tired of all this pussy footin’ around! Just hit me already!”

McCoy spun around suddenly, his fist connecting with Hatfield’s face. Hatfield staggered back, turning as he took a few steps away. His hand went to his nose and found it bleeding. They stood breathing heavily for a moment.

“Now don’t you feel bett- ”

McCoy roared as he tackled Hatfield to the ground. They rolled and it ended up with McCoy on top punching down. Hatfield kept his arms up and close to his body covering his face. In the struggling he managed to bring a knee up and shove McCoy off. They scrambled to their feet and faced each other.

 

The noise of the fight brought the Delta-1-6 men from their dormitory. Hatfield wiped blood from under his nose and then brought his fists up. McCoy was breathing heavily and growled as he swung again.

“What the fuck?” “Sarge!”

“Stay outta this.” called Hatfield to the men. He kept to the defensive, absorbing and blocking the blows he could.

“Come on McCoy. Let it out. Hit me. Scream at me!” He took the hits to the ribs and then suddenly McCoy’s knee made contact with his stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs. Hatfield doubled over. McCoy took the opening to wind his foot behind Jon’s, tripping him, but bringing himself down as well. Hatfield landed on his back, gasping. He brought his arms up in time to block another headshot.

“We could have done it! We could have gotten him out!” yelled McCoy, raining down blows.

“You were hurt! I had to get you out!” shouted Hatfield in return.

“Sarge! Fight back!” yelled Kid. Hatfield caught another blow and turned it aside. McCoy’s hand fisted in the front of Jon’s shirt, pulling him up to meet his punch. He hit hard and Jon’s head snapped to the side.

“You could have saved him!”

 

“SARGE!”

From Hatfield’s vantage Kid was a blur as he slammed into McCoy’s side, shoving as hard as he could. McCoy was pushed to his feet. Without thinking he spun and slammed his fist into the side of Kid’s head. Kid fell to all fours dazed. McCoy breathed in and screwed up his eyebrows as he realized what he did.

“Kid?” he began to say. He cried out as his arm was wrenched back behind him. Bones was thrown to the ground. Hatfield’s knee at his back held him to the ground and kept Bones’ arm at an odd angle behind his back. His other hand pushed McCoy’s head into the dirt.

“The fuck McCoy!? Don’t take it out on Kid. And damnit Leonard…” Jon breathed heavily as he tried steady his breathing. “I tried.”

 

“Hatfield!” “Bones!”

Bones felt the the pressure on him release, as Jon stood and took attention.

“What the hell in god’s name you do think you’re doing?!” shouted Major Wilkins from where he stood with Kirk and Spock. Bones got to his feet.

“Major Wilkins I-” started McCoy.

“Fighting sir. I take full responsibility.” Hatfield cut in. Bones looked at him. Blood was smeared beneath his nose, his lip was split and oozed blood. A black eye was already beginning to form. Major Wilkins stomped up to Jon and stood close, glaring into his face.

“You’re damn right you do.” he said menacingly.

“Major, I wa-”

“Doctor McCoy.” interrupted Wilkins. “Now I get that there’s bad blood between you and Hatfield, but I dont give a shit. I DO NOT tolerate the dissent of the rules on Orion Station. You’re lucky you’re not one of my men. I leave it to your Captain to deal with you.”

“Hatfield.”

“Sir.”

“40 laps of the complex and first watch, is that understood.”

“Sir yes, sir.”

 

Wilkins walked slowly back to Kirk.

“Captain Kirk. I expect you to keep better control of your subordinates.”

 

As soon as Wilkins had turned his back Hatfield had dropped to his knees beside Kid, checking him over. He helped Kid to his feet.

“Zach, are you ok?”

“Yeah Sarge. Just a little dazed.”

“I told you to stay out of it.”

“Hatfield. Now!” shouted Wilkins.

“Yes Sir.”

With a concerned smile Jon patted Zach on the arm and scruffed Kid’s hair. He then turned and jogged off towards the edge of the complex.

“Squad. As you were.” The squad turned and went back into their dorm. Auger taking Kid by the shoulder and leading him inside.

* * *

 

He waited for the yard to be clear before Bones spoke.

“Jim, I’m sorry I-”

“I don’t want to hear it Bones.”

Bones fell silent. Jim covered his face with his hands, rubbing his face. After a while he let his arms drop to his sides and finally he spoke,

“You’re grounded. You’re not coming with us tomorrow. If I could I’d be sending you back to the Enterprise and ordering you to your quarters until you figured out what the hell you are doing. Now we are going back in that dorm and you are going to be civil and behave like the Starfleet officer you are. Is that understood Doctor?”

“Yes Captain.” said McCoy.

* * *

 

The squad fell silent and looked up as the trio entered the dorm. They had gathered and the tables that stood by the food prep area. If looks could kill, Jim was sure Bones would have been dead three times over. After a while the group turned on them and continued their quiet conversation.

They sat at the set of tables across the way from them. Bones kept silent as Spock and Kirk began to discuss the plan for the next days excursion back to the Glory Ridge science outpost. He didn’t pay much attention to their conversation. He sat there thinking, even long after Kirk and Spock called it a night. After a while he noticed how sore his shoulder was becoming.

 

“Kid? What are you doing?”

“Leave him be.”

“Shut up, it’ll be ok.”

 

Bones didn’t look up until he noticed Kid walking over to him. Kid had an angry bruise forming where Bones had punched him. They looked at each other in silence before Kid held out an ice pack.

“Here. It’ll help with the shoulder.” Bones gave him a confused look.

“Well go on. Take it and don’t make me look like a dumbass in front of the squad.”

“Sorry kid. I was just a little confused over why you’d help someone who nearly coldcocked ya’.” he said taking the pack. The cold felt good on his muscles. Kid shrugged.

“It’s what Sarge would’a done.” Kid sat down across from Bones.

“Even after I beat the shit out of your CO in a fight?” asked Bones. Kid laughed.

“Excuse me Doc, but you didn’t beat the shit outta anybody. I’ve seen him take on Boom in sparring. It wasn’t a real fight anyway. ”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah really. Sarge wasn’t fightin’ back. There were plenty of spots where you gave an opening that would’ve brought you down easy, but he didn’t take ‘em. Guess he didn’t want to beat the shit out of you.”

They sat quietly for a while.

“I am sorry about that Kid.” Bones apologized, motioning towards Kid’s bruise.

“Nah. I’ve had worse. I’m more surprised that a doctor like yourself could hit so hard, or fight for that matter.”

Bones smirked.

“Well I wasn’t always a doctor. For two years I ran high security with Hatfield, when we were younger. Trained us like the Marines. Its not something you forget.” Bones was surprised with how open he was with the Kid.

“Why’d you give it up?”

Bones stayed silent this time.

“Was it the Olduvai mission? I tried asking Sarge about it once but all he told me was that he lost his best friends.”

Bones nodded and they fell to silence once more.

“How old are you kid?”

“19. I’m only a private cadet now but I’ll get up there.”

Same age as Chekov.

“Sarge keeps trying to convince me to drop out of the Marines when this tour is done. But I’ll show him I can do this.”

 

“Hey Kid. Ten to lights out.” called Mack.

“Got it.” Kid stood. “You coming out with us tomorrow?”

“No. I’m… grounded.”

“That sucks. But you gotta take what you dish out, right?” Kid extended a hand. “It was nice talkin’ to you Doc.”

Bones took it and they shook.

“Thanks for the ice pack Kid.”

“Zach. Call me Zach.” smiled Zach.

“Good night Zach.” Bones smiled back. Zach walked a few paces towards the showers before turning back.

“You stayin’ up Doc?”

“Yeah… Don’t feel much like going to sleep yet.”

* * *

 

It was hours after lights out when Jon finally returned from serving his punishment. He walked quietly across the dark dorm to the shower room, not noticing McCoy, who was still sitting at the table. The ice pack had long since lost its chill. He flicked on the shower room lights. McCoy stood and walked quietly to the doorway. Leaning against the doorjamb he watched Jon examine himself in the mirror.

“You did a fine piece of work on my face McCoy.” said Jon quietly, looked at him through the mirror.

“According to your recruit, its only because you let me.”

Jon half-grinned and began washing his hands. Collecting water in his hands he leaned down and washed his face. He winced, both at the sting of the cold water and the ache in his side from where McCoy had kneed him. McCoy stood and walked into the shower room to stand next to Jon.

“Let me see your face.” he said.

“I’m fine McCoy.”

“Let me see.”

Jon sighed as he turned and leaned against the sink, letting McCoy have access to his face. The black eye was even darker now, but luckily it wasn’t puffing out too much. His nose wasn’t broken and had stopped bleeding. Where his lip had split was slightly puffy but it wasn’t bleeding anymore.

“Do you have any pain killers?” asked McCoy.

“Yeah.”

“Good. You’ll need ‘um.” he said, pulling back to lean on the wall-partition behind him. Jon snorted and turned, opening a cabinet and pulling out a medicine bottle.

“What so funny?”

Jon shook his head still smiling.

“Just like old times isn’t it. We’d get into a good old-fashion brawl and then you’d try and patch us up.”

“If memory serves me correctly, it was you and Tommy who would get us into trouble and then me trying to clean up after you idiots.” McCoy said folding his arms across his chest. Jon nodded, looking away as his smile faded, and let the space between them fall silent.

 

They stood in silence for a long while. McCoy spoke quietly.

“You said you tried.” He watched Jon.

“I did.” Jon breathed out, not looking up. “After I got you out I made for the mine again. I was ten feet from the entrance when the final blast went off. Threw me 5 yards into a crane base. When I came to, the mine had already collapsed.”

There was another silence.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” McCoy asked, his voice shaky.

“You never asked."

McCoy looked everywhere but at Jon, trying to figure out what to say.

“Jon… I’m so sorry. I’m-”

“No.” Jon cut it, looking up. “Don’t Leonard. I made the decision, and there will never be a day when I wont think about it. But I dont regret it.”

“I should never ha-.”

“Please Leonard! Just... stop. I’m too tired to be doing this now.” said Jon, standing up and crossing to the dorm room. McCoy watch him disappear into the dark dorm and  heard the squeak of Jon’s bed frame as he went to bed. McCoy ran a hand over his eyes and flicked off the light.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~ I know it has been a while since my last chapter post. It has been really busy on this end. Thank you all for being so patient and I hope you have enjoyed this new chapter.


	5. Nothing Left to Say

The metal door of the dorm creaked as it was opened. McCoy woke to the sound of quiet conversation and the sounds of men moving about the dorm.

“Are you sure you want to be going out Sarge? You’ve been up practically all night.” said a hushed voice.

“I’m fine.”

“Seriously Sarge. You should get some rest. I can run drills this morning. Go back to-”

“I’m fine Auger!” Hatfield said louder, but still managing to keep his voice quiet. “Now get your shit ready for the run and get outside.” he ordered.

“Yes sir…” replied Auger quietly.

The sound of booted footsteps faded and then the final creak of the metal door marked the Squad’s departure.

 

McCoy could not fall back to sleep after that. He sat on the edge of his bed, listening to the sound of Kirk’s quiet snores and Spock’s slow perfectly measured breathing. He thought about everything that had happened the night before.

 

_“Look. Fine. I get it. You hate me.” … … “You think you’re the only one who gets nightmares?!” …. “...still affects me just as much as it does you”... “...all my fault!” … “Just hit me already!”..._

 

McCoy put his head in his hands, his fingers finding their way into his dark hair. The fingers on his left hand brushed against the bumpy scar tissue near the crown of his head, hidden from sight by the hair.

 

_“Hit me. Scream at me!” … ”You were hurt! I had to get you out!” …. “Guess he didn’t want to beat the shit out of you.” … “I tried.” … “...made for the mine again.” …  “... had already collapsed.”_

 

McCoy dropped his head lower, elbows resting on his knees, putting the full weight of his head in his hands. He closed his eyes and slowly breathed in. He thought back to when he had woken up in the hospital.

 

_Jon had been there, sleeping in the uncomfortable chair next to Leonard’s bed, feet up on the edge of the bed and arms crossed tightly over his chest.. Jon looked exhausted. There were deep, dark circles under his eyes, healing scratches and small bandaged cuts were visible on his hands and head. His face was semi-pale and his hair mussed._

_Leonard’s head hurt as he slowly moved his head to take stock of where he was._

_“Jon?” he croaked out, finding his throat dry and his voice gravelly. Jon woke with a start, lifting his head and looking around. When he caught sight of Leonard a smile broke out on his face._

_“Hey Leo.” he said gently, sitting up and leaning closer to his friend. “Its about time you woke up. You had me worried.”_

_“How.. how…” Leonard started, but he started coughing. Jon quickly got up and poured him a glass of water. He helped him take a sip._

_“Slowly Leo.”_

_The water felt cool and good in his dry throat._

_“How long have I been out?” he said, his throat feeling much better. Jon set the cup aside and sat with his elbows on his knees, leaning in towards Leonard. He glanced at his watch._

_“Three days as of 40 minutes ago. You took a bad hit to your head. Thought you never were going to wake up.” said Jon, a tired smile on his face._

_“You ok?”_

_“Me? Yeah I’m fine. Just a couple of cuts and bruises.”_

_“What about Tommy?”_

_Jon’s smile slowly faded, the happy light in his eyes dimmed. When he spoke he couldn’t look at Leonard._

_“You just woke up Leo. Don’t worry about that now.”_

 

McCoy remembered how Jon hadn’t been there when the doctors had told him that Tommy hadn’t made it. How empty he had felt. How he hadn’t talked to Jon at all anymore. How, at Tommy’s memorial, his emptiness had been filled with hate towards Jon. The nightmares had begun soon after that. McCoy remembered how he would go out without telling anyone, usually ending up in bars or walking some empty road. He remembered how Jon would always find him. Try to walk beside him, or sit down next to him at the bar and drink with him. Try talking to him, but all the while accepting Leonard’s silence.

Then McCoy remembered the last time he had seen Jon before this. That night they were in a bar.

 

_“What did you say to me?!”_

_“No Leo!” shouted Jon, trying to restrain Leonard as he lunged for the large man._

_“You heard what I said punk!”_

_“Hey! No fighting!” shouted the bartender. Jon dragged Leonard behind him, positioning himself between the large man and his friend. He held out his hand, the other holding into Leonard’s shirt, pushing him back._

_“Please. I’m sorry. He’s very drunk and he doesn’t know what he’s doing.” Jon said, trying to bring peace._

_“I am very sorry. We’re leaving.”_

 

_Jon pushed McCoy out of the bar and into the cool night air. It must have been midnight._

_“What the fuck was that Leo?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!” said Jon, pulling Leonard along the street in the direction of home. As usual Leonard didn’t reply. He jerked his arm free of Jon’s grip and started to try walking on his own. He took a few good steps before he staggered, nearly stumbling into a wall. He felt Jon’s hands on him again, steadying him._

_“Come on Leo. Let’s get you home.” he said gently, concern written all over his face. It enraged Leonard._

_“Gettoff me.” he mumbled. When Jon didn’t let go, Leonard took hold of Jon’s leather jacket and threw him against the wall. “GET OFF ME!” he shouted._

_“Leo?”_

_“I don’t need you!” he shouted, his words slurring._

_“Leo please-”_

_“I don’t need you following me around! I don’t care what you have to say! You… You ruined everything! So just… go away! Go away! Stay out of my life!” he yelled into Jon’s face. Jon didn’t reply. He just stared at Leonard with hurt eyes. Leonard let Jon go._

_“Stay outta my life….” he said more quietly. “Go away.” With that he turned and walked home._

 

McCoy remembered how he had woken the next morning, hungover and angrily expecting Jon to be somewhere in his apartment like he normally was after a late night bender. But that morning he wasn’t. That night had been the last McCoy had seen Hatfield. Nearly 12 years before he showed up in the transporter room of the Enterprise.

 

_“I tried to stay out of your life McCoy. I really did.”_

 

McCoy breathed in deeply, suddenly realizing that he hadn’t taken a breath in a long time. He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. Hearing the sounds of fighting out in the yard he looked up. The squad had returned from their run.

* * *

McCoy stepped out into the cold morning air. They sky was overcast, though it did not look like it would hold the threat of rain. The squad was out in the yard in pairs. Kid sat off to the side checking over each man’s gear that they had stacked off to the side of the yard. Those in the pairs sparred without weapons.

McCoy walked to the edge of the porch, leaning on the railing as he had done the morning before.

“‘Morning Doc.” said Kid, bringing two of the packs up onto the porch and stacking them neatly by the door.

“Morning Zach. How’s your head?” McCoy asked.

“I’m fine. It’s just a bit twingy. That’s why Sarge is sitting me out of sparring this morning.”

“I’m sorry Zach.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Kid said, trotting down the steps to retrieve more of the packs. McCoy looked out over the yard again, spotting Hatfield sparring with Boom. Hatfield’s black eye was all the darker now and the bruising was more prominent, but from what McCoy could see there was little swelling. As he watched Hatfield suddenly had Boom on the ground, the big man’s arm trapped behind his back.

“Yield.” said Boom through gritted teeth. Hatfield was off him in a moment, holding out his hand to help Boom up. Hatfield glanced up at McCoy. Hatfield held McCoy’s gaze for a few moments before hauling Boom to his feet.

“I still don’t know how you keep doing that Sarge.” said Boom, rolling the shoulder that Hatfield had manipulated.

“Timing. Does it hurt?” asked Sarge, taking stance across from Boom again.

“No more than when you usually do it.” replied Boom, matching the stance.

 

The longer McCoy watched the squad sparring, the more he realized how easily Hatfield could have really beaten the crap out of him.

_“Sarge wasn’t fighting back.” ... “Guess he didn’t want to beat the shit out of you.”_

 

“Morning guys! I managed to raid the kitchens and bring some pre-cooked breakfast for y’all of Sarge doesn’t mind giving you a break.” called a voice over the noise of the fighting.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked for the source of the voice. McCoy looked up and spotted Sam walking towards them across the yard. She wore the same green sweatshirt as she had the morning before, but her hair was pulled up into a ponytail.

“I also’ve got some coffee. Now by pre-cooked I mean a variety of bagels that I stole. Thought I’d bring you breakfast since you’ve got the early flight out to Glory Ridge. 0800.”

Hatfield checked the watch on his wrist. It was already 0615. He called.

“Alright men. You can take a break. When you’re done eating gear up.”

 

Kid set the last pack down and trotted out to meet Sam and help her with the load of food and drink she carried. The men broke pairs and started heading back to the dorm. At Sam’s shout they looked back.

“What the hell?!” she shouted, shoving the bag of bagels and the jug of coffee into Kid’s arms. Kid juggled them trying to catch all of it as Sam ran through the group to where Hatfield had been walking. He hadn’t looked back, nor did he answer her.

“Look at me.” she said, grabbing his arm. This got him to stop but he didn’t answer her.

“Jon! Look at me.” she shouted. Hatfield let out a slow breath and turned to look down at her. She sucked in her breath.

“What the hell happened?! Are you ok?” she said, trying to reach up and touch the bruises on his face.

“I’m fine Sam. I got in a fight with the ground and I lost. It’s nothing.” he said sounding annoyed, but only gently moving her hands away. He turned to start walking for the dorm again.

“Bullshit!” she shouted, grabbing his arm again. “Who did this?” she said, watching the side of his face.

Hatfield let out another exasperated sigh. Unconsciously he glanced to McCoy before turning to face her again. Sam had caught the glance and followed it to where McCoy stood on the porch. Her face shifted from concern, to confusion, to understanding, and then pure rage. In an instant she was swearing and starting a dash for the porch. Hatfield caught her about the waist and held her back, even though Sam tried hard to get free.

“Pinkie.”

“Let me go Jon!”

“Sam.”

She was a mess of flailing arms and kicking legs as she tried to wriggle free.

“I’m going to kill him!” she shouted. Hatfield grunted slightly as he bent his knees and then picked Sam up, throwing her over his shoulder. She was light enough for it.

“DAMNIT JON! LET ME DOWN!” she yelled, pounding his back with a fist.

“QUIT IT SAM!” he shouted in return, legitimately sounding angry with her. Sam went quiet but continued to struggle half-heartedly.

“Damnit Sam. I started the fight so stop it!” he ordered. Sam went limp, her arms hanging down Jon’s back.

“You done?” Hatfield asked. The whole squad was watching them.

“You know as soon as you put me down I’m going to make a run for him again.” she said defiantly.

“No. You are not.” said Hatfield sternly. “You’re going to run checks.”

“JON-”

“Damnit Sam! That’s an order.” he said, putting her down. She turned and looked up at him, defiantly but he met her gaze.

“Go.” he said simple. She nodded once. Glaring back at McCoy she turned and stormed across the yard in the direction of Control.

 

Hatfield watched her go and then turned back. He met the eyes of every squad member who had been staring with a cold glare that caused them to look away. When he met McCoy’s gaze, a shiver ran down the doctor’s spine.

“Excuse me Doctor.” Hatfield said, calmly climbing the stairs of the porch and standing in front of McCoy. McCoy held Hatfield’s glare for a moment. He wanted to say something, to apologize. He breathed in but found he couldn’t say anything. Not under Hatfield’s gaze. He had never seen a look so empty, devoid of any emotion. He had not even seen that kind of look from Spock. McCoy swallowed and stepped back out of the way.

“Thank you Doctor.” Hatfield said, not looking at the doctor as he passed. McCoy watched him as he went.

* * *

Stepping inside barracks, Jon was met with Captain Kirk and Commander Spock heading out. Jon nodded to them. Neither acknowledged the bruises on his face.

“Good morning Captain. We have the 0800 departure time for Glory Ridge.” Hatfield said politely.

“We heard yelling out there. What-”

“It was nothing sir. There is coffee and some breakfast food outside if you wish to join the men.”

Kirk looked like he was going to pursue the question further, but Commander Spock placed a hand on the Captain’s arm and said, “Thank you Sergeant Major.”

Jon nodded once more and headed to his space, unzipping and pulling off the top part of his green training jumpsuit, letting it hang around his waist. Facing his locker, he heard the metal door of the barrack swing open behind him.

“Hatfield.”

Jon turned to look at McCoy as he walked across the barrack.

“Doctor.” Jon said, turning back to his locker. Reaching in, he pulled out his towel and a change of underclothes.

“Can we talk?” asked McCoy, coming to stand just beyond the end of Jon’s bed. When Jon turned to look at him, the Doctor was faced with a blank expression.

“About what Doctor?”

McCoy’s eyebrows scrunched and he began to look agitated. He began to stumble over his words.

“About… last night. The fight. What we talked about… What happened… with us. Between us...Olduv-”

“Pertaining to last night Doctor.” interrupted Jon, speaking formally. “Please forgive me. I should not have provoked you. If you will excuse me.” Jon began to walk towards the showers.

“What? No. Hatfield. That’s not what I meant. Can’t we talk about this?” said McCoy, following after him.

“Talk about what.” said Hatfield, not looking at McCoy. This pissed McCoy off. Grabbing Hatfield’s arm, he forcibly stopped the Sergeant, turning him to face McCoy.

“Damnit Hatfield. You know exactly what.”

Hatfield remained silent, looking down at McCoy’s hand gripping his arm.

“Look. What I am trying to do… I’m trying to say ‘I’m so-”

“Doctor McCoy.” said Hatfield coldly, looking up and meeting McCoy’s gaze, his eyes as icy as his words. “There is no need to discuss this any further. There is _nothing_ left to say.”

Hatfield kept McCoy is his cold glare before speaking again, his polite words sounding threatening.

“If you will excuse me.”

Hatfield walked silently away, heading towards the showers, leaving McCoy standing alone in the main room of the barrack.

* * *

Kirk and Spock stood with Dr. Frobisher and Sergeant Hatfield near the 3-6-Zulu. The Delta-1-6 stood off to the side, waiting for the 3-6-Zulu flight crew to finish running their checks. McCoy spotted Sam standing among the soldiers, fixing Mack’s comm. As he approached where Kirk stood he could feel their glances at his back.

“My research assistants went on ahead last night, along with much of our supplies. We’ve only got a few more crates. I can have a couple of my guys come out to meet us when we-”

“No. We can manage it. I’d rather the science teams stay inside the station, until we’ve cleared the area. Just because we didn’t see any Kruk yesterday means nothing.” said Hatfield, shaking his head.

“If you say so Jon. Less strain on my old back.” said Frobisher with a smirk.

The conversation paused when McCoy stepped up beside Kirk. All four of them eyed him.

“Doctor McCoy.” said Kirk, cautiously.

“Captain,” said McCoy formally. “I understand that I am ordered to remain here. I request permission to observe the excursion remotely.”

Kirk watched McCoy’s face as he considered the request. Bones wouldn’t meet his eye directly. Kirk nodded slowly. Then he looked to Hatfield.

“Sergeant. The decision is up to you.”

Hatfield looked at McCoy, who stood in profile to him. He stood silent for a moment and then turned, whistling loudly to get the attention of his squad.

“Pinkie!” he called. Sam broke off from the group and trotted to where the five stood.

“Yes Sarge?”

“Radio check complete?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Good. Please put Doctor McCoy up with you at your con station. He will be observing us remotely.”

“Sarge? You’ve gotta be kidding me!” she shouted, dropping her PADD down to her side.

“Pinkie.” said Hatfield, looking her in the eye. They glared at each other for a long moment.

“Yes. Sir.” she said finally, spitting out the words in formality. She looked at McCoy and growled. “Follow me.”

McCoy looked at Kirk and nodded, silently telling him ‘Stay safe’. Kirk nodded in return.

Turning McCoy followed after Sam. Behind him he heard the helicopter start its engines and Hatfield calling, “Delta-1-6. Move out.”

* * *

Sam led him to the central building beneath the Control Tower. He followed her through the heavy airlock style door and down a series of hallways. Stepping through the final door he was met with a large open plan room with a ceiling higher than the others. Evenly spaced throughout the room were control stations, large banks of holo screens with control stations in front of them. Each station reminded McCoy of miniature bridges. Not all the stations were currently occupied, those that were had headsets and focused on their screens. The room was abuzz with the voices of the control technicians, each communicating with their own teams, reporting everything from weather patterns to heat signatures to personnel coordinates.

Sam walked through the aisles of computer banks to one near the back of the large room. Around the base of her control station there was a painted ‘Delta-1-6’.

“Stay here.” she ordered, walking past the station, running her hand over the control pad, waking the station up. She kept walking and grabbed a chair from one of the empty stations nearby. She dragged it back, its wheels quietly rumbling on the tiled floor.

“Here. Sit.” she said, shoving the chair towards McCoy.

“Thank you.” he said quietly, sitting. He got the fact that she was pissed at him, and thought it was best not to provoke her. Reaching into a drawer and pulled out an earpiece, minus the mic. She worked with the comm, talking as she did.

“I’m setting this up so that you can listen in to our frequency. From the kill cams and shoulder mounts on my screen you can watch what’s going on until I can patch into the security cameras at Glory Ridge. Then you can keep an eye on your Captain.”

She held out the earpiece for McCoy. When he reached for it, she pulled her hand back, causing him to look up and meet her gaze. She looked at him with controlled hatred.

“I don’t know what happened between you two. I want to make it clear. I **don’t** like you. The only reason I am **tolerating** you here is because the sooner you and your Captain are off planet the sooner we get Sarge back. Got it?” She held out the earpiece once more. McCoy took it and nodded.

“Yes Ma’am.”

 

Slipping the piece into his ear he heard the talk of the squad. On the screens the sixteen visual readout boxes displayed various angles of the helicopter’s interior. Kirk and Spock sat in the middle jump seats with Dr. Frobisher.

“Ready Sarge.” said Sam into the radio, accessing the helicopter’s audio system. McCoy saw Hatfield give the signal to the pilots. He saw everyone lurch and, on a camera that gave a view of the open door, he saw the ground slowly descend away from the helicopter.

Sam entered a few more commands into the computer. Music began flooding the helicopter cabin, classic rock, like it had been the day before. He could see the co-pilot flipping Hatfield the middle finger and could see him swearing loudly. Hatfield, didn’t acknowledge the gesture, looking out the open doors instead.

“Pinkie. Cut the music.” came the order over the radio.

Sam glared up at McCoy as she silenced the music.  

 

 

 


	6. Wolves At the Door

The flight to Glory Ridge as quiet compared to the flight the day before. Hatfield sat in stoic silence, watching the landscape speed past the open doors of the helicopter. The members of Delta-1-6 remained quiet. When they would glance to Auger in question, Auger only minutely shook his head in response, telling them to drop it for the time being.

When they landed, Hatfield was the first to jump out, quickly followed by the members of his squad. They moved slowly and cautiously. Keeping their eyes on the tree line around the launch pad, they circled the helicopter.

"Anything on thermal, Pinkie?" asked Hatfield.

"Negative sir. Nothing on thermals." came Pinkie's response, attempting sarcastic formality.

"I've got a report from Mika'tan's lab saying that they heard something moving outside their labs last night. So be careful." she warned.

"Thank you Pinkie. Keep an eye on the thermals and let us know if you get anything."

"Oh man. I was totally looking forward to seeing my friends ripped to pieces. Dang Sarge. You take away all my fun." Pinkie said sarcastically. Hatfield didn’t acknowledge it. He signaled the pilots to shut down the helicopter.

"Boom, Mack. You two unload Frobisher's supplies and bring them to the lab. Olson, stick with them and keep an eye out." Hatfield ordered as Kirk, Spock, and Dr. Frobisher disembarked.

"Portman, Kid. Patrol the road between the lab and the launch pad. Auger. Dagit. When we get to the labs patrol the parameter. Just because we don't see them on thermal doesn’t mean they cant be out there." Hatfield warned.

"When they're done moving the cargo," said Hatfield, speaking to Olson, "I want you to join Portman and Kid on patrol. Understood?"

The Delta-1-6 responded as one, "Yes sir."

 

* * *

 

"You gents will be enjoying the company of me and my research assistants in the Flux lab today. I promise, it will be much more interesting than listening to that blow hard Mika'tan all afternoon." said Frobisher to Kirk and Spock as they walked along the road.

"What did you once say Sergeant? Something about our dear Bioengineer being slower than sap in winter?" called Frobisher.

"Something like that." said Hatfield, not looking back. Frobisher tilted his head at Hatfield's indifference to the conversation. The physicist looked to Auger, who he knew was close to Hatfield, but the soldier only shook his head as he had done in the helicopter. Frobisher shrugged and turned his attentions back to entertaining his guests.

"Now if the name doesn’t give it away, we study the Flux phenomenon of Diogenes. Ever since its discovery and subsequent scientific exploration, the energy field disturbances of this planet have interested the greater scientific community. This kind of behavior has never been documented on any other planet save for disastrous instances. And never has a planet with such powerful energy fluctuations been a class M, life sustaining planet."

Dr. Frobisher's research assistants were waiting for the group when they arrived to the lab. Boom and Mack passed over the first load of equipment to the assistants while the three VIPs and Hatfield entered the facility.

"Now my team and I theorize that we aren't actually seeing a fluctuation at all. We think we've been reading the energy outputs wrong this entire time." said Frobisher, taking the lead out of the lobby and through the maze of halls to his lab.

"And we think we've found evidence to support our theor- Ah. Hello Dr. Mika'tan." said Frobisher. Dr. Mika'tan stood in the doorway of his laboratory, arms folded over his chest as he watched Frobisher's assistants move about through the halls.

"Did you miss me?" asked Frobisher jokingly.

"Hardly." replied Mika'tan. "It was so much quieter when you weren't around."

"Oh Dr. Mika'tan. You did miss me." joked Frobisher. Mika'tan rolled his eyes.

"Just make sure you and your bumbling assistants keep the racket down wont you. Some of use have practical, rather than theoretical, work to be done." said Mika'tan, turning back into his lab. When the doors slid shut Frobisher stuck out his tongue and made a rude gesture towards the doors.

"Grumpy arsehole." he grumbled. "Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, we theorize that we are actually reading multiple energy fields. Arranged in such a way that they swirls around the planet, each in their own pattern. But when you don’t see the individual patterns and just them as a whole, you just see the mess." continued Frobisher, leading the way into his lab.

"Now, _when_ I discover the pattern at which these layers swirl, it shall be the epitome of my life's work. Scientific recognition and awards. Fame, fortune, and all which that entails a major scientific discovery. Wink Wink Nudge Nudge, if you catch my drift." Frobisher joked, nudging Spock's arm with his elbow.

"I am unaware of what you mean Dr. Frobisher." said Spock, in perfect sincerity. Kirk snorted, then tried to cover up his laughter with a bit of coughing.

"Are you alright Captain?" asked Spock. Kirk cough/laughed harder.

 

* * *

 

Hatfield stood near the door of Frobisher's lab, half listening to Frobisher and the VIPs discussing physics, half listening to his team over their radios.

A spurt of gun fire erupted over the radio. Along with startled swearing. Hatfield tensed and quickly stepped out into the hall.

"Contact report." he called into his comm.

"Sarge. Kruk spotted in the tree line south of the access road." reported Portman.

"Pinkie." called Sarge.

"Yes Sarge. Getting thermals and kill cam feed for confirmation." replied Pinkie's voice.

"Boom, Mack, Olson, what's your 20?"

"30 yards from Portman and Kid. Heading back their way." replied Mack.

"Good. Auger, Dagit. Report?"

"Nothing Sarge."

"Alright. Meet me at the entrance of the labs."

 

* * *

 

"Are you sure you saw a Kruk Portman?" asked Pinkie over their radios as Mack, Olson, and Boom ran up and formed an all around defense with Portman and Kid. "I've got nothing on thermals, nor your kill cam."

"I'm not telling a shit Pinkie." spat Portman back.

"Neither am I Portman." replied Pinkie, offended. "I've got nothing."

"I saw what I saw! A Fucking Kruk watchin' us through the goddamn trees. I shot at it and now its fuckin gon-"

"Hey quit it." interjected Sarge. "Its better to be on guard at nothing than being caught fucking about by something."

Suddenly there was the sound of a loud crash and screech of metal. There was a loud roar, the spattering of gun shots, and then the sounds of screaming.

"What the fuck?!" shouted Boom.

"The helicopter!" cried Kid.

"Shit. Retrieve the pilots and secure the helicopter." ordered Hatfield. With him at the entrance of the lab, Auger and Dagit brought their rifles to their shoulders and fell into their combat stances.

The five on the access road moved in formation, as they had on the practice field during drills, to the launch pad.

"Holy shit." breathed Boom.

"Oh my god." breathed Pinkie.

"Report." ordered Hatfield.

The helicopter had been destroyed. Large claw marks were scrapped down the sides of the metal hull. Windows were shattered, and the blades hung at awkward angles, or simple were not there anymore. Blood and body parts were splattered about the pad.

"'Copter destroyed. Pilots dead. No sign of the Kruk." reported Boom.

"Negative!" responded Pinkie quickly, "I've got three heat signatures heading your way. Comin' fast."

"Fuck. Make for the labs." ordered Hatfield. The five needed no further instruction.

"Dagit, start lock down procedures. Auger-"

"Give 'em cover. Got it." said Auger, finishing Hatfield's thought. He headed up the road. Once he heard the lock down alarm sound, Hatfield sprinted to join Auger.

 

* * *

 

A siren began to blare inside the laboratory.

"What the hell is that?" shouted Kirk over the sound of the siren.

"Lock down siren." shouted back Frobisher, looking up at the flashing black box above his doorway confused.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire could be heard near the entrance of the building.

Kirk and Spock moved to action, making their ways through the halls to the 'lobby' of the facility. Through a thick observation window they could see Hatfield and Auger shooting up the road at three large beasts as the rest of Delta-1-6 ran past them and into the building. Auger and Hatfield continued to fire as they quickly walked backwards into the lobby, the sounds of their guns echoing deafeningly off the metal wall.

"Close it up!" shouted Hatfield. The beasts were still running at full speed towards them. At his order, Dagit completed the final lock down sequence and the heavy outer doors of the laboratory slammed shut. Thick, heavy steel shutters crashed into place over the window through which Kirk and Spock watched.

A moment after, something collided with the metal door, causing the entire structure to shudder.

The 'BOOM' of the collision faded away. The lock down siren still blared. But still Hatfield's sentiment could be heard, and shared by all.

 

"Fuck."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all can thank genibane for spurring me to keep writing this. I know this chapter is a little weird, but things are going to get better. At least for me cause I've already had most of it written. For them? Well.... you'll see.  
> Spoilers: The next chapter has two names. "No Man (or Beast) Left Behind" and (my personal favorite) "My Name is Death and the End is Near"


	7. My Name is Death and The End is Near - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title Inspiration: "Oh Death Remix" by Jen Titus.

“Fuck.”

Came Sarge’s voice over the comms. There was a moment when all that could be heard over the radios was the heavy breathing of the Delta-1-6. Their heart rate frequency monitors blipped rapidly on Pinkie’s screen. The kill cam and shoulder mount feeds showed a dizzying collected of the same scene from multiple moving points of view. Another close, but muffled roar, was picked up by the squads’ microphones from the outside. Inside the Control Room the BA36Z Ground Control technician was staring in horror at his static filled screen.

“Pinkie.” came Sarge’s voice again. It shook her from her stunned immobility and she jumped into action.

“Here boss. Comms and video feed still strong. I’m calling in the mayday now.” said Pinkie. Bones sat in stunned silence as Pinkie flew into motion. She called up a window and punched in a code. She stood as she spoke into her headset, her voice coming over the speakers of the Control Room.

“Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Multiple Kruk engagement at the Glory Ridge Science Outpost! Reinforcements and extraction needed!”

“Acknowledged Delta-1-6.” called a Con-Tech a few aisles away, standing to get Pinkie’s attention. “Rerouting Alpha-3, Rescue and extraction. They’re comin’ by truck, ‘bout 8 klicks to your west.”

Pinkie did a quick calculation in her head and swore.

“Sarge, I’ve got the Alpha-3 heading your way. They’re about 20 miles to your west, so it’ll be a while. Can you hold out till then?” she asked into the team’s radio channel.

“As long as we need to.” replied Sarge. “Lockdown initiated, we’re sealed in.”

“Delta-1-6!” called the Alpha technician.

“Acknowledged Alpha-3.” Pinkie called back. The Alpha-3 Con-Tech was speaking into his own teams radio frequency, but gave her the thumbs up.

“Mission is a go.” He called.

 

“Shit, shit, shit. Kruk rarely hunt together. This is… fuck.” muttered Sam as she sat back in her chair. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm herself. She glanced at McCoy to see his worried expression.

“Lockdown procedures mandate that all personnel make for the Atrium of the outpost. All exterior doors immediately shut, lock, and then lock again with a secondary reinforcing structure.” explained Sam, trying to reassure McCoy. She pulled up the outpost’s security schematics, pointing out where each seal had been engaged. “Windows and view ports will have had steel shutters come down to prevent entrance that way. Power will be diverted from unnecessary systems to bolster the seals. It might get a little dark in there but your friends will be fine.”

As if on ironic cue the security schematic window began to flash red.

“Parameter breach. Parameter breach. Parameter breach.” The computer voiced in a calm but urgent warning.

“Fuck! Sarge! Parameter breach. North side. Auxiliary Biolabs.” said Pinkie. Through the radios they could hear the same calm but urgent voice sounding within the outpost. Pinkie’s screen flared up again.

“Secondary breach! South exterior maintenance dock.”

People were beginning to scream within the outpost as the shuddering ‘BOOM’ echoed again as the Da’Kruk slammed into the main door once more.

“Give us a room without exterior walls Pinkie!” called Sarge.

“Primary Flux lab. Single point of entry. Reinforced like a vault.”

“Everybody move to the Primary Flux Lab! Now!” came Sarge’s shouting voice. Through the shoulder mounts McCoy and Sam could see the group of people move swiftly towards Frobisher’s lab. When Kid’s camera panned that way, McCoy saw Kirk and Spock at either side of the door ushering people inside.

“Damnit Jim, get in the room.” growled McCoy.

“Alpha-3 I need you to double time!” shouted Sam across the room. “I’ve got multiple parameter breaches.”

“Holy Fuck,” swore the Alpha tech, “I’m on it.”

 

There was a screech of something sharp being drawl across the metal of the exterior door and then another shuddering ‘BOOM’. Kid’s shoulder mount swung around to see Sarge backing away from the door.

“In!” shouted Sarge, keeping his gun trained on the door.

“In! In! In!”

 

* * *

 

 

Within the Flux lab the ‘BOOM’ing was muffled, accompanied by the occasional screech and roar. The Delta-1-6 stood with their guns trained on the door. Hatfield glanced at the men on either side of him, then back at the civilians behind them. Kirk and Spock stood at the front of the huddled mass. Hatfield dropped the muzzle of his gun and flicked on the safety, but kept it close, ready if needed.

“Kid,” he said, “get me a head count.”

“Yes sir.” said Kid, flicking on the safety of his gun and letting it hang from its straps.

“Rest but ready.” said Hatfield to the rest of the squad. In response they each flicked on the safety of their gun and held it as Hatfield did. Ready if needed. 

“Ladies and Gentleman. I need you to remain calm. We have the situation under control. Private Ermand here is going to take a head count, make sure everyone is here.” said Hatfield, addressing the group of civilians. He could see Frobisher standing not far back from Kirk and Spock, Layla-tha huddled close to him, scared.

“Once you’ve checked in with Private Ermand, I must ask you to move towards the back of the laboratory and not to interfere with any military operation we conduct. Rescue is already on their way. We will keep you safe. And we will get you home.”

Kid moved off into the crowd, beginning to take names and count. Hatfield waited a while, watching the Kid move amongst the scared men and women before he turned his back on the group, facing towards his men.

“Pinkie, how many personnel are currently stationed here?” he asked quietly into his radio. The Delta-1-6 watched and listened closely. Instinctively, they formed a huddle with Sarge at the head.

“47, plus your two VIPs. So 49.”

Kid came and joined the huddle.

“How many Kid?”

“41. Including the VIPs.”

“Shit.” whispered Sarge. “That leaves 8 unaccounted for.” He glanced up at his men. Kid looked flushed and sweat glistened on his forehead.

“Do you hear that?” asked Boom, who was nearest to the door. The squad fell silent, listening hard to what might be on the other side of the door.

“There’s nothing.” said Olson, who stood next to Boom.

“Exactly.” replied Boom, looking to Sarge. Each understood what that meant.

“Alright. This room is a code red. Means no one gets in without our permission. It stays ours at all costs. Auger, Dagit, stay with our friends here. Keep them calm and secure the door.” Sarge said quickly.

“Portman, Olson. Take Bioengineering. Boom, Mack. Rest of the Flux labs and the rooms up front. Kid and I will take dormitories and maintenance. Locate the breach and secure. Florescent markings on the rooms you’ve already cleared. Escort civilians you find back here. Eliminate all threats. Understood?”

“Yes sir.”

 

* * *

 

McCoy felt his heart pounding against his rib cage. The bitten down bile of fear burned in his throat. He knew what it was like to head out into danger. Being on the Enterprise had given him enough experience of that.

 

* * *

 

They crept quietly down the dark hall. Lockdown had caused the power to shunted to only necessary components. Half an hour had already passed. Boom and Mack had found three of the eight huddled in a storage closet off one of the Flux labs. Portman and Olson had found another hiding in the Genetics lab.

Kid followed close behind Sarge. Rifles up, they moved slowly down the corridor. At the corner Sarge motioned for Kid to wait for his check. Kid nodded and moved into place behind Sarge, ready to turn corner if there was something down there. Sarge crossed to the other wall and looked down the hall, scanning with the light attached to his rifle.

“Clear.” he said quietly.

They moved down the next all, checking in labs and marking the doors when they had been cleared. Kid was on edge, jittery.

“Sarge. Maybe the Kruk aren’t here.” he said finally, a little too loud.

“Shut up Kid.”

“I mean. Maybe they’ve gone. Why would they have come here anyway, right? I mean, they’ve gotta moved on by no-.”

Sarge grabbed Kid by the front of his vest and shoved him back against the wall.

“I said shut up!” Sarge whispered harshly. “Every time you open your mouth you give away our position.”

“I- I’m sorry Sarge. I’ll keep qui-” Kid stuttered.

“Wait a minute. The fuck is up with your eyes?” Sarge flicked his light to red and shone it on Kid’s face. Kid’s eyes were dilated unnaturally and didn’t respond to the light.

“Are you high?”

“Yeah-- I mean No. I mean I gotta-.”

“Damnit Kid. I don’t care. You take another shot of that shit and I’ll blow you full of holes myself. Got it?” Sarge growled angrily.

“Yes Sarge.”

“Where did you get it?”

“Sarge?”

“Where did you get the fucking drugs Kid?” Sarge demanded. Kid didn’t speak at first, trying to make noise until he finally said, defeated, “Portman. When we were patrolling the road.”

“Shit…” Sarge swore looking away. He shook his head in disappointment and pushed Kid against the wall once more before letting him go.

 

Gunfire erupted over their radio, and a yell.

“Contact report.” said Sarge into his comm. No reply.

“Damnit. All units report contact.”

“Sarge, we got a big one in the Bioengineering lab. Heading west and moving fast.” said Olson.

“You and Portman stay on it. We’re on our way.”

“Got it Sarge - Oh Shit!” yelled Olson.

“Holy shit!” came Pinkie’s voice. Sarge was already running back down the corridor with Kid on his heels. Gunfire ripped across the radio again. There was a loud roar and screaming.

“Fuck! Fuck! Portman! Fuck! AHh!” yelled Olson over the roaring and thud of the guns. Then there was silence.

“Olsen!” Sarge yelled. “Answer me Olsen! Pinkie! Do you have them?” No reply. “Pinkie! Do you have a visual?”

“N- No Sarge. I’ve got nothing but wall from the kill cams and static from their shoulder mounts.”

Nothing came over the radio but the sound of the men running for a few moments.

“Olson!” came Boom’s voice. “Man down. Man down!”

Sarge swore again. He checked around the corner before dashing around it. Another corner and he found Boom kneeling over Olson, Mack keeping guard. Boom looked up at Sarge and shook his head.

“He’s gone sir.”

“Fuck… What about Portman?”

“Missing.” said Mack from where he stood. “His gun’s over here sir. With the amount of blood he’s probably KIA.”

Sarge stayed quiet for a moment.

“Take Olson. All units regroup at the Flux lab.” he ordered.

“Sergeant.” Dr. Mika’tan said, cutting across the comm. “You cannot bring the body back here.”

“I’m not just going to leave him here Doctor.”

“You’ll have to. Olson is dead Sergeant. And the smell of blood will attract them to us.”

“Hate to tell you doctor. But we’re all just a bunch of walking meat suits. They’ll find us anyway.” said Dagit.”Sorry Sarge, he grabbed my radio.”

Sarge ran a hand through his hair and thought for a moment.

There was a muffled whimper from behind the door in front of which Olson’s body laid. Dagit and Sarge instinctively stood at the ready. At Sarge’s nod, Boom pulled Olson’s body away and Kid keyed open the door. A young woman, one of Dr. Mika’tan’s lab assistants, cowered behind the office door. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, arms hugged her knees, and she rocked slightly. She jumped when Dagit the doors clicked completely open.

“We’ve found another one. Take Olson’s tags. We leave him in the Biolab.” Sarge sighed. “We still regroup in the Flux lab.”

“Pinkie?” he asked.

“Sarge.”

“Did you get a visual of what happened?”

“Yeah, up until everything cut out.”

“Good. Patch it into the computers in the Flux lab. I want to see what the hell happened.”

“Yes Sarge…. It… Its not pretty sir.”

 

* * *

 

Sarge shoved Kid into the lab. “Kid, you’re going to stay quiet and out of the way.”

“What’s up with Kid?” asked Auger.

“He took something Portman gave him.”

Auger groaned and cuffed Kid across the back of the head. “Idiot.”

“Shut up Auger. Pinkie. Give me the video.” Sarge said pulling the nearest monitor around to face him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've separated this chapter into two parts. Simply because it would be much too long otherwise, and because I only have the first part completely written.
> 
> Part 2 will be coming up, hopefully shortly.


	8. My Name is Death and the End is Near - Part 2

Sarge watched the feed until it cut to static. The men of the Delta-1-6, those remaining, had gathered around behind Sarge to watch as well. Most clenched their jaws and waited stoically for Sarge to speak. Kid was pale and swallowed hard.

 _Watching the feed must have brought him down from his high real quick._ thought Sarge. The men waited.

 “We gotta go back out.” Said Hatfield finally quietly to his squadron. “There are three more unaccounted for. We can’t leave them out there with no protection.”

“They’re probably all dead as your marines.” said Mika’tan from the edge of the group. “Stay where you can protect us here. Don’t be a foo-”

“They are civilians.” interjected Hatfield. “Without backup they won’t stand a chance.”

“And you will die just like the rest of them.” retorted Mika’tan. Sarge silenced him with a glare.

He looked to his squad around him. Each tried nobly to look unworried, but Sarge could see it in their eyes. Only Kid looked like he was going to puke.

“We’re in a fucking shitty situation.” said Sarge to his men, being straight with them. “I’m going out again. If any man wants to stay behind I won-”

“Hell no.” interjected Boom, resolute. “I love my job.”

Each Delta-1-6 member repeated the statement. Each stood straighter and nodded. Even Kid, who sounded as scared as he looked, clenched his jaw and stood determined.

Sarge felt like he'd been punched in the chest. He grinned wearily.

“You assholes.” he said quietly. “I was giving you an out.”

“And you’re an asshole for suggesting it. We’re with you Sarge.” said Mack.

 

“Alright. Here’s how it’s going to go. Kid and Auger. Thank you but you’re both sticking here with the survivors.” Both nodded, even though Kid looked like he was going to object.

“Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock,” called Hatfield. He had noticed that they had gravitated towards the squad as Mika’tan had, but thankfully had remained silent where Mika’tan had not.

“I would greatly appreciate it if you kept up the moral of the civilians. I can’t give you a gun and let you come with us, but I can ask you to do this.” Kirk nodded and gave Hatfield and grim grin. Spock moved to stand next to Mika’tan.

“It would be detrimental to insight a panic amongst those who shelter with us Dr. Mika’tan.” Spock said in a low voice to Mika’tan alone. “It would therefore be logic for you to remain silent.”

 

“The rest of us will move as a single team. Better protection for anyone we find. Better protection if we’re attacked. Survivors we find we return to the Flux lab. Oorah.”

“Oorah!” called the rest of the squad in unison.

 

“Good luck Sarge.” said Kid, offering an extra magazine from his pack. “You’ve been shooting a lot more than I have, and I know you don’t get to carry as much.” An offered apology. Sarge grinned and accepted, stowing it in a pouch on his chest.

“Thanks Kid. Hold down the fort until we get back.”

“You got it Sarge.”

* * *

 

 Sarge, Boom, Mack, and Dagit stepped out of the lab and waited until the door sealed behind them, each keeping a wary eye down the darkened halls.

“Those still missing are assistants of Dr. Mika’tan. Portman and Olson hadn’t made much headway. We’ll start there.” Sarge said quietly. “Boom take point.”

 

Boom led the team down the quiet halls, the only sound they could hear was the movement of their boots on the floor. They passed Olson’s yellow green marks on the doors at the beginning of the hallway. They came to where Olson had been found, the blood still slick and sticky. Without word they kept moving past it, Mack running his hand over the door of the Biolab in which they had placed Olson. Sarge could see the Fennik’s ears droop as they passed.

They worked their way down the halls towards the Auxiliary Bio labs. They entered each unmarked room, checking for civilians. With the zoological and botanical laboratory, Layla’tha’s lab, within sight down the hall Sarge, Dagit, and Mack entered a room as Boom stood guard outside.

“Clear.” whispered Sarge, scanning his area of the room.

“Clear.” repeated Dagit, his sector clear as well.

“Clear.”

They filed back out of the room and began moving down the hall again. Before rounding the intersection between halls, Mack patted Boom’s shoulder to make him stop and raised his gloved fist indicating for Sarge and Dagit behind him to stop. He stood stock still, his pointed ears twitching at attention. His more advanced hearing had picked up something that they had not. The Fennik made a sign with his free hand, indicating that he had heard an enemy, a Da’Kruk.

As Boom glanced behind him to read Mack’s signs something large reached around the corner of the hall and caught Boom by the shoulder with a heavy paw. Boom screamed as it dragged him down into the crossway, its claws digging deep into his flesh.

“Fuck!” shouted Mack as he began firing at the Kruk that now bore over Boom, its claws ripping and tearing. Sickeningly, blood splattered around the hall and Boom had stopped screaming. The Kruk took a few of Mack’s shots before it roared deafeningly in the metal halls and turned its back swiftly to Mack. Its tail whipped around, the spiked bone protrusions slamming into Mack’s neck. Mack dropped like a ragdoll.

 

“MACK!” Sarge took up Mack’s position, with Dagit to his side and a bit behind him. The Kruk roared loudly again but made no move forward. It staggered slightly as its wounds began to bring the creature down. There was another loud roar from farther down the hall where it had come from.

“Secondary threat! Dagit, cover!” shouted Sarge. Dagit moved forward and continued to fire as Sarge crouched and pulled Mack’s arm over his shoulder.

“Pull back! Follow my lead! Cover us!”

Sarge retreated to the room they had already cleared, Dagit quickly walking backwards, following as he fired. Once inside the room Dagit punched the door lock and the door fell into place, its locks engaging, sealing them in. There was a hard crash as the second Kruk threw its weight against the door, but the door held.

 

Sarge laid Mack down on the floor and pulled back the bloodied collar of his vest. The tail had torn open a portion of Mack’s neck. Blood flowed out quickly, coming in waves as his heart beat. Sarge heard Pinkie swear and a retching sound as he quickly pulled a wad of gauze from his medkit and began to apply pressure to the wound.

“Damn. Pinkie, I need Mack’s frequency monitored.”

“He’s got an irregular pulse. Blood pressure dropping fast.” came McCoy’s voice.

“Where’s Pinkie?” asked Sarge, grabbing a tube of sealant from his pack. He deftly removed the gauze, applied the sealant, and reapplied the gauze, pushing the sealant into place and maintaining pressure until the sealant would activate.

“Emptying her stomach.” replied McCoy keeping an eye on the monitors at the con. “Your boy’s not breathing.”

“Dagit, I need your hand here.” said Sarge. Dagit quickly knelt and replaced Sarge’s hand with his. Sarge moved around Dagit’s arm and began CPR.

“Dagit, give him some room  to work but keep pressure on that wound.” said McCoy. Dagit bent his arm out of the way as Sarge moved to Mack’s chest, compressing where Mack’s Fennik heart would be.

“1,2,3,4,5, breathe.” said Sarge.

“He’s flat lining.”

“Come on you asshole.” growled Sarge, pumping harder on Mack’s chest than he had before.

“1,2,3,4,5,breathe.”

“No change.”

“1,2,3,4,5,breathe.” Sarge repeated the maneuver for a few minutes more.

“No change.” said McCoy quietly, “Jon-“

“Come on damnit! Dagit, get an adrenaline shot out of my kit.”

“1,2,3,4,5, breathe. 1,2,3,4,5, breathe.” Sarge continued.

“Jon.”

“Come on Mack! For fuck’s sake! Dagit! I need that shot!” shouted Sarge.

“Jon! Stop!” McCoy practically shouted into the comms. Pinkie sat back in her chair, staring at the screens. She was pale.

“He’s gone.” he said more gently.

Through Dagit’s shoulder mount McCoy could see Sarge’s hands slow, halfheartedly pumping in desperation, until they finally stopped.

“I’m sorry.”

* * *

 

Dagit slowly removed his hand from Mack’s neck, resting it on his chest. Sarge slid back until his back hit the door of a metal cabinet. He sat in silence, staring at Mack’s body. After a while the silence was broken by the sound of something hitting a hollow metal box. Dagit looked up to see his CO drop his head into his hands, knees drawn up to his chest.

“Sarge?” he asked.

“God Mack I’m so sorry.” He heard, muffled through both arms and comm.

“Sarge.”

“I’m so sorry. You, Boom, Olson. Fuck, even Portman.” Sarge’s voice shook. He took a shallow breath. “It’s my fault.”

“Sarge.” Dagit said louder, getting to his feet. He crossed the small distance and stood in front of his CO. Sarge didn’t react. He was getting lost in his own headspace.

“God I’m sorry Tommy.” came softer.

 

In the control room McCoy stiffened at the familiar name.

 

“Sarge!” Dagit shouted. His CO flinched and looked up. His eyes were red and watery. Dagit pulled Sarge up to his feet by the straps on his vest.

“We don’t have time for this!” Dagit said angrily, shoving Sarge against the metal cabinets. “Get your head out of your ass and back in the game.”

Sarge shook his head, as if to shake something from his mind.

“Look at me.” Sarge met Dagit’s eyes.

“You want to make it up to them? We finish this. I need you here and now.”

Sarge blinked hard and began to look like he was seeing more clearly and was aware of his surroundings. He was coming back to himself.

“We’ve got a job to do. Are you with me?”

“Yeah…” Sarge said weakly at first. He cleared his throat and said more firmly, “Yeah.”

Dagit let go of Sarge’s vest and patted him on the shoulder.

“Good.” He said nodding. “Cause I’ve got an idea.”

* * *

 

Dagit took Mack’s tags and placed them in a pouch of his vest.

“Alpha-3 isnt going to reach the civilians with these things in the halls.” he stated. Sarge nodded in agreement.

“But they might have a chance if we can draw them out.” Dagit finished. After a moment Sarge raised an eyebrow.

“Be bait for them?” he asked skeptically.

“Are you nuts?!” came Kid’s voice over their comms.

“Thank you for your input. Stay there.” Responded Sarge, anticipating what Kid was going to offer.

“Pinkie, what’s Alpha-3’s ETA?”

“Twenty minutes. They’re coming as fast as they can. I’m with the Kid on this one. It’s a suicide mission.”

“Twenty minutes?” asked Sarge to Dagit. Dagit shrugged. They had both ignored Pinkie’s last statement.

“That’s no time at all.” said Dagit.

“Well alright then.”

* * *

 

They stood on either side of the door listening for anything outside. Dagit glanced to Sarge.

“You ok?” he asked cautiously.

Sarge glanced up at him.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“So uh… So we’re good?” Dagit asked cautiously once more, meaning how he had manhandled his superior officer. Sarge cracked a grin.

“Yeah. We’re good.” Dagit visibly relaxed.

“Thank you for that, by the way.”

“No problem Sarge. Anytime you want me to kick your ass, just let me know.” Dagit joked, a grin creeping to his own face.

“Asshole.” Sarge said affectionately. Both chuckled quietly.

 

It was silent on the other side of the door.

“You ready?” asked Sarge, slipping back into solidary.

“Ready.”

“Let’s move.”

With that they left the room.

* * *

 

They headed back the way they had come, heading towards the intersection of hall where they had been attacked. When they came to Boom’s remains, Sarge knelt. Without taking his eyes off the hall ahead of them he placed his fingers against Boom’s neck, confirming what he already knew. He stood and they continued down the hall.

 

They entered Layla’tha’s lab. The room was a mess. Habitats had been broken into and very few creatures remained. For a fleeting moment Sarge wondered what had happened to Rex. A draft slowly curled around the room and afternoon sunlight brightened a far corner of the room. The northern breach. From the center of the room there was a grunt and then a crash. Sarge and Dagit took cover behind some of the large plants Layla-tha had grown from seeds.

Through the leaves Sarge could see a pale white Da’Kruk pawing at the habitat it had just toppled. It used its claws to remove a side and then sat back as it watched the creatures inside flee in a panic, out through the breach. Sarge looked to Dagit, who mouthed silently, _‘Found the breach.’_

‘On my three’ Sarge mouthed back. Dagit nodded, gripping his gun more tightly.

 _‘1…’_ Sarge counted on his fingers as well. _‘2...’_ “THREE!” he said outloud, standing and aiming at the Da’Kruk. Dagit mirrored his actions. The fired near, but purposefully missed, the Kruk to get its attention.

The Da’Kruk yelped in surprise and took off towards the breach.

“It’s running?” shouted Dagit.

“Come on.” replied Sarge.

 

They chased after the pale Da’Kruk, leaping after it through the torn metal layers of the exterior wall out into the sunlight. It was already a third of the way through the cleared area around the outpost, heading towards the trees. It barked as it ran. Dagit, the faster and incidentally taller of the two, pulled ahead of Sarge and paused a moment to take a shot. The bullet caught it in the hindquarters and it reared up. Sarge saw it turn back.

Suddenly there was a loud screech and a brightly colored winged lizard swooped at Sarge. It screeched and flung itself at Sarge’s face. Sarge staggered back and brought his arm up to cover his face from its large claws. It screeched again, forcing Hatfield back another step.

He heard Dagit swear loudly.

“REX!” Hatfield tried pushing the trellex away. The winged lizard screeched again.

“REX! Move!” shouted Hatfield. When his swatting didn’t work Hatfield discharged his gun into the ground. The sudden noise frightened Rex and he flew away screeching.

Sarge hurridly scanned the yard and spotted Dagit running full tilt towards an armored Humvee parked across the packed dirt yard. The pale white Da’Kruk was chasing him down and gaining. Sarge tried to take aim at the Da’Kruk but couldn’t get a clear shot without the possibility of hitting Dagit.

“Run Dagit!” shouted Sarge as he took off after the pair.

Dagit didn’t slow as he neared the Humvee. The Da’Kruk was nearly on top of him. Sarge saw Dagit rip the protective top off one of his heavy grenades.

The Da’Kruk leapt onto Dagit before he had the chance to throw it. Almost in slow motion Sarge saw the grenade tumble from Dagit’s hand as the pair now slid together into the truck. And then there was a thud that Sarge felt in his chest and a flash before he fell to the ground.

 

**‘BOOM!’**

 

Sarge shook his head from the concussive force of the explosion. His ears rang painfully.

“Dagit!” he shouted, forcing himself to his feet. He looked to the smoking mess where they had been. The wind shifted and began to waft away. The truck had been thrown and damaged, landing on its side.

“Dagit!” Sarge shouted again, starting to run to the wreckage. He couldn’t see him on this side of the truck. He hurried around to the other side.

 

He did not find Dagit around the side of the truck. He stopped short as he came to face the pale Da’Kruk writhing before him, its tail and hind legs trapped beneath the truck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took longer to post this. Its one of the few chapters that I didn't already have hashed out. And I've also been doing some rewrites. And writing is hard.  
> I hope y'all dont take the 'the End is Near' seriously. This is chapter 8. I've projected to have about 15.  
> Ta!


	9. No Man (Or Beast) Left Behind

Sarge stared at the Da’Kruk that writhed in pain in front of him. It cried out, trying to crawl out from under the wreck of the truck. It snarled and hissed as it caught sight of Sarge but then whimpered in pain.

“Contact.” Sarge said.

“Sarge! Where are you?” asked Kid over the radio.

“I’m outside. Stay there.” he replied, knowing Kid would try and make it to him. Jon approached slowly, the Da’Kruk watching him as he watched it down the sight of his rifle. He recognized the pale white skin and fur, and the brown-red splotch of fur on its back . It was the one from Mika’tan’s lab. Dark brown blood oozed from where the electrode spikes had been inserted.

Standing, if it could stand, it would be about John’s size, but still it looked so pitiful and weak. Its black eyes met Jon’s causing him to freeze. They were scared and pleading.

‘Help...me...’

“Why should I help you? Your kind killed four of my men.” Jon snarled.

“Who are you talking to Sarge?” asked Auger.

‘I… kill… no...’’

“Can’t you hear that?”

“Sarge, what are you talking about?”

‘Please… help...’

Sarge stared into its eyes as it stared back. If felt like it was looking into his soul.

 

‘Bargain… deal… help me… help friend…’

The Kruk shifted as much as it could and revealed Dagit’s hand. Dagit had been trapped beneath the creature, which was now trapped under the truck.

‘Still warm… still breathe… help me… help friend…’

“And then what? You kill us?” Sarge asked incredulously.

‘Leave… no hurt… leave… promise…’

 

“Shit…” Sarge breathed out. He lowered his gun, letting it hang from its strap as he approached the side of the wrecked truck. The Da’Kruk didn’t lash out at him as he got close. Jon found a clear spot to work with and put his shoulder against it and pushed as hard as he could. The truck lifted slightly but not nearly enough for the creature to get out.

“Jon, I’ve got nothing but dirt and black on your cams. What are you doing?” came Pinkie’s voice into his ear.

“I’m helping it get out from under the truck.”

“What?!”

“I can’t just kill it Sam.” he grunted, trying to lift the truck again. “Dagit’s trapped under it. I get it out and I can get to Dagit. That’s the deal.”

“Deal?! Are you fucking insane?!”

Jon heard a growl behind him. He spun, pulling his rifle up and came face to face with three more Da’Kruk.

“Oh shit.” he heard Sam swear into the radio.

They were all bigger than the one under the truck, and all darker, their colorings ranging from rust brown to jet black. The pale Da’Kruk mewled to the other Da’Kruk.

‘Brother… rescue...’

Neither Jon nor dark Da’Kruk moved, measuring each other up. Jon slowly lifted up his gun and slipped out of the strap. Then he slowly crouched down and laid the weapon on the ground. He came up with his palms up.

“The fuck are you doing Jon! Get outta there!” yelled Sam.

“It’s ok Sam. It’ll be ok.” He slipped the com out of his ear so that he wouldn’t hear Sam swearing at him.

“I’m trying to get him out from under the truck.” he said to the other Da’Kruk. Somehow he knew the pale one was a him. “My friend in trapped under him. I help him out, I get my friend out, and you leave. That’s the deal. But I can’t do it alone. I could use your help.”

The black Da’Kruk, the biggest of the three, stalked slowly forward. It stood on its hind legs and towered over him. Jon felt his heart pounding, but tried to keep ahold of himself. It barked loudly at Jon, causing him to flinch. It came back down to all four with a thud, then stalked around Jon to the pale Da’Kruk, nuzzling it affectionately. The black Da’Kruk grunted and motioned its head to the truck.

‘Help.’

Jon let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding and turned back to the truck.

“On three. One… two… three!” Jon pushed and lifted with all his might. The black Da’Kruk pushed against the truck with its full weight as well. With a groan the truck began to move, slowly at first and then more easily. The pale white Da’Kruk barked weakly as it dragged itself from under the truck. Once freed it turned and with surprising gentleness, dragged an unconscious Dagit out as well. As soon as they were both clear, the lifting pair let the truck fall back down with a loud thud.

The pale white Da’Kruk went to the large dark one as Jon knelt beside Dagit. Dagit was covered in dirt. He was missing the last three fingers and a portion of his palm on his dominant hand, the one that had held the grenade before he’d dropped it. The heat of the explosion had burned up his forearm, but had been almost a blessing. It had also cauterized the worst of the bleeding.

Dagit’s leg on the other hand hadn’t been so lucky. It too had been caught in the explosion, taking Dagit’s boot and its contents. The burns were bad up to just psat his knee. It bled heavily.

Jon heard Sam’s gag through the loose comm as he set to work. He retrieved a tourniquet from his medkit and slipped it around Dagit’s thigh, just above the burns. He grunted as he pulled the cord as tight as possible, hearing the tourniquet’s locking mechanism click into place. He then turned the key on the mechanism, forcing tighter and tighter. The result was having the bleeding slow.

When it was tight enough to prevent Dagit from bleeding to death, Jon twisted to pull out some gauze from his kit. As he turned he saw the clawed hand of rust colored Da’Kruk coming down at his head with a roar. Jon was knocked hard to the ground. He tried to blink the stars from his vision. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was seeing the pale Da’Kruk leaping at the rust with a roar of its own, and the words ‘No… promised...’ drifting through his mind.

* * *

 

“What the hell happened?” said McCoy over Pinkie’s shoulder.

“I don’t know. The shoulder mount cut out.” she said. “Sarge? Sarge, do you copy?”

Auger came onto the com, “Pinkie what happened?”

“I’ve lost visuals from Sarge and he’s not responding.”

“Give me his last location.”

“West side of the outpost. You’ll find an overturned truck. That’s the last I saw of him.”

Auger looked at the group behind him. Dr. Mika’tan looked like he had already shit his pants. Layla-tha looked scared, but she wasn’t falling apart. Kirk and Spock stood at the ready, listening intently and keeping their game face.

“Kid, give Mr. Spock your secondary weapon.” he said, pulling his own handgun from its holster and handing it to Kirk.

“Now these aren’t like phasers. There’s recoil. Keep your grip and stance firm and don’t freak when it tries to punch back at you. Kid, stay here and keep this place locked down. Nothing comes through that door got it.” said Auger, taking command. Kid nodded. He was sweaty but seemed more focused. He was almost down from the high.

“Pinkie, I’m on my way.”

 

Sam and McCoy watched Auger’s feeds as he worked his way outside. There was a brightness and then the cams readjusted to the light. The overturned truck lay on its side before him, the rifle still sat on the ground nearby. Auger crept closer, turning to make sure that nothing snuck up on him.

“I’m here Pinkie. I’ve got Dagit.” said Auger checking his surroundings. He crouched down next to Dagit and checked for a pulse.

“He’s still breathing but he’s pretty bad. Sarge’s gun is here but no sign of the man.”

 

“Squad Delta-1-6. This is Alpha-3. We’re approaching Glory Ridge Outpost. Do you copy.” came a new voice into the radio. It was the rescue team.

“This is Corporal Auguin. Copy.” Auger replied. He could hear the heavy trucks now.

“What’s your situation?”

“I’ve got a man here who needs a medic ASAP. Three confirmed dead, one presumed. CO is MIA. Survivors and a Marine bunkered down in the Flux lab.”

“We have a visual on you, Auguin. We’ll follow you in.”

* * *

 

Kirk, Auger, Kid, Sam and Spock stood with Major Wilkins, each reporting what had happened. McCoy stood by Sam’s Con station, watching. He remained silent as he processed everything that had happened.

“What do you mean he tried to help it?!” He heard Wilkins shout angrily at Sam.

 _‘Stupid idiot.’_ thought McCoy. Movement on the screens of Sam’s con caught his attention. It was Jon’s shoulder cam. McCoy leaned over and brought up the video relay. Something must have caused the recording to re-play. McCoy tried to shut it off, he and Sam had watched it over and over again trying to get a clue if Jon was still alive. But it wouldn’t stop.

“Holy… Major! We’ve got visual from Hatfield’s shoulder mount.” McCoy called out.

“What?” Sam and Wilkins said at the same time.

“We’ve got a visual. It’s a live feed.”

“Holy shit!” Sam raced back to her station, moving McCoy aside. Wilkins and everyone else followed. Sam keyed in some commands and brought the visual to full screen.

“The wiring in the cam must have been damaged when Sarge was hit. Something must have bumped it back into place.” Sam said hurriedly, slipping her headset back into her ear.

“Sarge. Pinkie to Sarge. Can you hear me? Do you copy?” she said. Nothing but static. “Pinkie to Sarge. Sarge do you copy?” she repeated. Static.

“Damnit.” she pulled her headset free. “The comm is broken.”

“It looks like he’s being carried.” said Kirk. Indeed it did. The cam faced down towards the ground and the ground moved steadily underneath it.

“Where would they be taking him?” asked Kid.

“Probably back to their den to eat his body later.” said the Major’s assistant.

“Shut up Gregor.” said the Major. “Auger, Kid. Head back to your quarters. Ms. Padreski, you are relieved. I’m bringing in my technician to work on locating Hatfield.”

“But Major, I can do that. If you’ll just give me a sec I can-”

“Ms. Padreski.” interjected Wilkins. “You are relieved from your station.”

Wilkins turned to Kirk. “Captain Kirk. I suggest that you return with the remainder of the squad and take some rest. We will deal with this from here.”

Kirk met Wilkin’s stare.

“Yes Major.”

* * *

 

The five men sat around the table in silence. Auger worked on writing his official report. Suddenly he threw the PADD onto the table and growled,

“Damnit! How could they just kick us out of there like that?”

“I don’t know." said Kirk. He had his arms crossed over his chest and he bit his lower lip thinking. “Why would he have kicked us out?”

“Perhaps there is something that the Major did not want us to see, Captain. I am coming to the conclusion that Major Wilkins is hiding something from us.” said Spock.

“Man, I hate not knowing what’s happened.” grumbled Kid.

 

There was a thump and a muffled curse from the shower room. They all turned to look and were met with the sight of Pinkie adjusting her shirt as she strolled out of the showers.

“Sam?” said McCoy, confused.

“Pinkie?”

“Ms. Padreski. How did you get in here?” asked Spock.

“The shower’s vent opening is right above a conveniently placed stack of crate flats.” She replied, tucking stray bangs behind her ear. She talked as she walked. “The Major has the complex on high security alert. I had to sneak past at least two full details without being seen. Give me that PADD.” she said, reaching the table and taking the PADD from in front of Auger before he could reply. Kid instinctively got up and let Sam take his place. She started keying in commands and coding on the PADD.

“What are you doing Pinkie?” asked Kid, leaning on the back of her chair so he could look over her shoulder.

“Kick me off my Con station. Well, I’ll show you.” she muttered to herself. “I’m pulling up the feed from Sarge’s cam and getting full access to my con. Frequency monitor, GPS - hell everything we can use to try and find Sarge.”

“From the PADD? How?” asked McCoy. Sam let the PADD down and looked up at McCoy.

“Really Doctor? You didn’t think I could remotely hack my own control system? I designed the damn thing. Hell, in a pinch, I could hack it from a truck readout port, given enough time.” Sam went back to work. With a few more commands the PADD screen went blank and then restarted showing Sam’s Con set up.

“Got it. With this back channel I can do whatever I want without them seeing it on my station.” she said, pulling the video feed up.

“Yes! You’re marvelous Pinkie.” said Kid, patting Sam on the back. She set the PADD upright on the table and they gathered around it.

“Sam.” said McCoy. “You are a genius and I’ll never doubt you again.”

“Thank you Doctor.”

 

The video relay showed that the cam was still in motion, meaning that Jon or his body were still being carried. The forest floor had been replaced with what looked like a smooth rock floor or a worn path.

“GPS is shit because of the Flux. I can tell you general direction but that doesn’t do anything for us.” said Sam, working in a window off to the side of the video. “Flux is also interfering with the frequency signal. I’ve got sporadic signals for heart rate but I don’t think we can trust it. Either Jon’s still breathing or the monitor is picking up on whatever is carrying him. I’m rooting for the former.”

“Look. They’re stopping.”  

 

The motion in the video came to a halt, the camera swinging a little. The camera lowered to the ground, nearly blacking out the relay. But then it was jostled and turned on its side. There was a collective intake of breath as they saw a large pale Da’Kruk close to the camera, pushing its nose into Jon’s chest. It pulled away and tilted its head looking down at Jon. His arm was visible in the shot, he must have been lying on his side. The Da’Kruk sat back on its haunches still watching Jon. It looked battered, dried areas of blood matting parts of its fur. Behind the pale one, more came forward showing signs of aggression. One lunged forwards towards Jon but the pale one reacted quickly and met it, clamping its powerful jaws around the offenders neck. They fought for a moment before a large black Da’Kruk jumped on them and separated them, shoving the offender back into the pack of Da’Kruk. Though they couldn’t hear it, they could see the black one roar loudly at the others. The offender barked back, which was met by another response from the black.

“Are they talking to each other?” muttered Kid confused.

The black Da’Kruk swung its head around to the gathered pack, welcoming challenge, but none came as the pack backed away.

 

The black Da’Kruk went to the pale one and nuzzled it. The view behind the pair opened up and the group gathered around behind the PADD saw the surroundings.

“Oh my god.” said McCoy.

 

It was a small valley, protected on all sides by smooth canyon walls. The pack gathered around the pair had dispersed amongst the other Da’Kruk in the valley. There were rough constructed shelters made of animal furs, clustered around central pits. In a few of the pits light burned brightly. Over the nearest fire there was a spit with a deer-like creature roasting on it. A Da’Kruk came up onto its back legs and used its front arms to turn the spit.

 

“What the hell?”

 

The black Da’Kruk sat with the pale one, licking its wounds. After a while the pale Da’Kruk got up and walked back to where Jon lay. It came close and licked the side of Jon’s face, causing Jon’s body to jostle a little. The cam went to static for a moment before returning. The pale Da’Kruk looked down at Jon, with…

 _‘What is that?_ ’ thought McCoy. _‘Pity?’_

It huffed out a breath, making a small steam cloud before its nose.

“It must be getting cold out there.” said Sam, working in the side window to pull up weather readings. “Down to 9 degree C. If Jon’s alive he might get hypothermia if he stays out all night.”

The Da’Kruk got up and moved close to Jon, laying down, nearly on top of him. The movement caused the cam to break into static once more.

“No! No no no no.” said Sam, trying to pull the visual back up. “Damnit.”


End file.
